If Love Was Enough
by Janeway1390
Summary: What would happen if the new intersect actually worked?
1. Prologue

"Is this really happening?"

"What's wrong Chuck? I thought you'd be excited."

He looked at her sitting next to him, faintly aware of the gun peeking out of her waistband. "I am excited, it's just . . . part of me never thought I'd actually make it out of here alive. I didn't think the CIA and NSA would let me be free once the new intersect was up and running. I thought they'd have you or Casey kill me or at least lock me up somewhere."

Sarah looked away from Chuck and scanned the yard outside his apartment. Other than a few of Casey's moving boxes the courtyard looked as it always did, yet somehow it felt different to her now. "Chuck I know this may not be what you want to hear, but just because you are no longer working for us doesn't mean that you are rid of the CIA and NSA for good. There will always be an operative watching you. Casey and I fought for you to be able to have a normal life from here on out."

"I guess it's a small price to pay," he said with a sigh. After a moment his face lit up and his eyes filled with hope. "Does this mean you get to stay? Will you be the one protecting me?"

She knew this way coming, but it didn't make the look in his eyes any less painful. "No. I leave for DC in the morning. I'll be debriefed then I'll be assigned a new mission. Most likely as far away from here as possible."

Chuck took that in. In less than twenty four hours Sarah would be out of his life and he knew he'd never see her again. He wanted to beg her to stay. Part of him believed that she wanted to stay with him and the other part knew that she couldn't. Sarah wasn't built for the white picket fence future. She'd confessed to him once that she thought about the possibility of it, but she didn't think she could tear herself away from the CIA.

"So what's our story? You've got a job offer in Boston? A sick relative in Toronto?"

"It has to be more definitive than that. Something that won't make Ellie, Awesome, or Morgan think that I may come back. It's best if it's something that makes them forget about me, or at least want to forget about me."

"They all wanted to forget about Bryce, but that didn't work out too well."

Sarah noticed that Chuck's tone was softer when he talked about Bryce now. Gone was the hint of venom that used to accompany his name. She hoped when this was all over he'd talk about her in that soft tone. "Yeah well what Bryce did was drastic. We don't have to go as far as making them hate me. Unless . . . unless you want them too."

"I don't want them to hate you Sarah," he laughed softly and gave her a small smile. "They all love you."

That's what was making this more difficult for her. Not only did she have to leave Chuck, she had to leave her makeshift family. The only one she'd ever really known. It scared her to think that she could make a life here. She knew she would be happy with Chuck. He was the best man that she could ever hope to find. But the real question: was she the best he could ever hope for? An emotionally stunted secret agent who would most likely run at the first sign of trouble. That didn't sound like enough for him to bank on a great future with her. Maybe one day she would be ready. Unfortunately for both of them, she wasn't sure if she ever would be.

"I guess you can just tell them that I needed to get away from LA and that I didn't tell you where I was going. When they asked why you didn't come with me say that I told you not to and that I was not ready for where our relationship was headed."

"So more or less the truth without the spy part thrown in?"

"Yeah, except that I'd want you to come with me if you could. If I wasn't out hunting terrorists and getting into knife fights. I'd want you there if it was safe."

The thought of Sarah getting into knife fights and hunting terrorists did not bode well with Chuck, but he brushed it off. She wanted him to go with her. It meant so much to him to know that in some way his feelings were reciprocated. A silence fell over them. Chuck racked his brain for a way to make her stay, but he came up empty. After a few minutes he spoke again.

"Do you have time to have dinner with us? Ellie would love to have you there and at least you'll get one last good memory of this place."

"I'd love to."

* * *

"I'm really going to miss Ellie's cooking," Sarah said as Chuck walked her out to her car.

"Are you sure you can't stay longer? Maybe crash here for the night?"

She wanted to say yes so badly, but she knew she couldn't. She had to go now or else she'd never be able to. "I have to take care of some last minutes things at my apartment." Lie. "But I promise to be here first thing in the morning so you can drive me to the airport." Another lie. She wished it wasn't so easy to lie to him. She hated it.

His face fell but he nodded. Sarah searched for the words that would make everything ok, but none came. All the words the thought of sounded like goodbye.

"I'll see you in the morning," was all she could come up with. Chuck just nodded again and watched as she got into her car and drove off.

* * *

Chuck should have known something was wrong when Sarah didn't show up on time. Sarah always showed up on time. He waited until it was half an hour past the time she said she would show up to call. When he heard the operator's voice instead of the dial tone he knew she was gone. Still, he got into his car and drove to her apartment. He parked in Sarah's old parking spot and ran to her apartment. The door was unlocked and he pushed his way through. It was empty just like he thought.

All he wanted was to be able to properly say goodbye to her. He didn't know what to do. After a minute he went and sat on the edge of her bed. He knew that once he left the room it would be real and he would have to officially start his new life. This was surreal. Part of him was convinced this wasn't happening. Then he saw the letter. It was sitting on her pillow with his name written delicately on the top. Chuck unfolded the paper and held his breath as he read.

_Chuck,_

_I shouldn't be writing this, but I had to tell you that I am sorry for leaving the way I did. I just couldn't say goodbye to you. I thought this way would be easier. I wish it didn't have to end this way. I wish we there was some way for us to be together. And I wish I had the courage to say all of this to you in person. But now Sarah Walker is dead and she can never come back. You have to start living your life and forget about the CIA. Forget about me. _

He read the letter five times before her words sank in. She didn't even sign her name. Sarah Walker was gone forever. The finality of her words killed him. She was never coming back.


	2. Day 1

It was early afternoon by the time Sarah arrived in Washington DC. She went straight to her debriefing with Director Graham. Where else was she going to go? She had no apartment, no family to see. She didn't even have a cover. She was no one. It was a little unnerving not knowing who she was supposed to be. She used to love the time in between covers. It was really the only time she got to truly be herself. But when she was Sarah, she was herself. For the first time she hated being invisible. She wanted to be Sarah.

"When do I get my next assignment?"

"I was going to give you a little time off, Agent. You're next assignment isn't going to be easy."

"With all due respect Director they never are. I don't need time off. I'm ready."

Graham eyed her then sighed and walked around to his desk. "We want you to help take down Fulcrum. You have the most experience with them and are one of the few people we can trust. You're going deep Agent."

Sarah expected as much. As a protector of the intersect she was one of a handful of people that were pretty much guaranteed not to be associated with Fulcrum. It was a way for her to keep Chuck safe. If Fulcrum was destroyed there would be no one left to hurt him. It would be painful though. She was going to be constantly reminded of Chuck. Still, she would rather have this assignment than any other.

"What's my cover?"

"You'll stay Sarah Walker for professional purposes, but for your first mission you'll be Natasha Dimitriv, a rogue Russian operative looking for any assignment that pays. We have intelligence linking two Fulcrum operatives to an area outside of Moscow. We think they are looking for bounty hunters to find Agent Larkin."

"They still think he's the intersect?"

"Yes."

"What's going to happen to Chuck if Fulcrum learns Bryce isn't the intersect?"

"Look Agent Walker. I know you care about Chuck, but he is a very important piece of intelligence. He cannot fall into Fulcrum hands. He is still alive because General Beckman and I trust you and Agent Casey, but he will be taken out at the first sign of Fulcrum suspicion."

Sarah only nodded. Fulcrum could not find out. Graham wouldn't hesitate to take Chuck out and depending how deep undercover she was there could be a chance that she wouldn't even know. That thought unnerved her. She would be fighting to protect him and he could already be dead.

"When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

* * *

Chuck had a shift at the Buy More in twenty minutes, but he had no intention of showing up for it. He couldn't just go back and sit behind the Nerd Herd desk without Casey to glare at him and he would always expect to see Sarah walk through the door during her lunch break. How was he supposed to forget about her when everything around him reminded him of her?

After he left Sarah's old apartment he drove around for awhile and eventually ended up on the beach. It was the same spot the two of them sat after he became the intersect. Back then all he wanted was to get rid of the secrets in his brain, but now . . . now he wasn't so sure. At least when he was the intersect he knew he was doing something with his life. It might not have been ideal, but he was helping save people and he liked that. And he got to be with Sarah. Their relationship wasn't exactly ideal either, but it was better than this.

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. It was probably Morgan checking on him. Chuck didn't want to answer, but he knew if he didn't Morgan would call Ellie and the last thing he wanted was a worried Ellie. That never ended well.

"Hey Buddy."

"Chuck! Man where are you? Big Mike is pissed that you're not here. You still need to pick an assistant manager."

"I'm not coming in today Morgan."

"What? Why? Are you sick?"

"No, I just can't. I'll explain later." Chuck didn't wait for Morgan to respond and hung up. He was going to give himself ten more minutes to wallow then he was going to start his new life. This was ridiculous. He wasn't going to do this. He wasted too much time trying to get over Jill and he would not make the same mistake again. It was time he started making things happen instead of waiting around for his life to start.

* * *

Ellie was waiting up for him just like he expected. "Chuck! Are you okay? Morgan called and said you didn't come into work today."

"I'm fine. I just had to drop Sarah off at the airport?" This was not a conversation he wanted to have right now, but he needed to get it over with.

"I didn't know she was going somewhere."

"Neither did I."

"What happened?"

"I have no idea. I walked her out to her car last night and she told me that things were getting too serious for her. I guess she needed to get away. She didn't tell me where so was going."

Ellie walked over and hugged him. "I'm so sorry Chuck."

"Me too," he said hugging her back. "I do have some good news though. I quit the Buy More."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I decided that it was time to get a real job. It's a good way for me to start over. I actually have an interview with an up and coming software company."

"Chuck that's so exciting. When's the interview?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."


	3. Day 8 Sarah

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the reviews everyone! I'm glad your liking this story. I'm trying to update more often than I did with this chapter so hopefully a new one will be up tomorrow!

* * *

"How did this happen Agent Walker?"

"I don't know. They knew who I was. I showed up at the meeting point where I was supposed to meet the two Fulcrum operatives and they opened fire," Sarah said trying to think back to the many conversations she had with the two Rogue CIA agents. She was positive she didn't say or do anything to tip them off. They must have sent her picture to their headquarters and someone must have ID'ed her. "Does anyone else know about my assignment?"

"Just General Beckman. We created this plan together."

"Is there anyone else involved?"

Director Graham hesitated for a moment then sighed. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but Agent Casey is on a similar mission."

Somehow that information made Sarah feel a lot better. She and Casey rarely saw eye to eye, but he had been her partner. She only trusted one person more than him. That one person was someone she tried not to think about too much.

"I need to meet up with him. If they know who I am then they know who Casey is. We work well as a team."

"I'll talk to the General and we will sort it out. For now I want you to track down the two operatives that shot at you and take them out."

"Already done Sir. I killed them and the other Russian assassin that was hired to take Bryce out. I just wish I was able to get some information out of them beforehand."

"It's okay Agent Walker. I'll figure out your next move and get back to you in the morning. Until then it looks like you have some healing to do."

The screen in front of her went black and Sarah collapsed into the couch. Graham was right. She had a lot of healing to do. The attack caught her off guard and she had to dive out of the way to escape the bullets. Unfortunately, the only option she had was to dive between two parked cars and she hit her shoulder on the curb, dislocating it in the process. She also had a few broken ribs and bruises running up and down her body. The two agents had been a piece of cake to take out, but the assassin was another story. She was one of the most talented fighters Sarah had ever been up against. She still wasn't sure how she made it out of there alive.

The rain made soft noises against the window. Her small apartment had no heater and the only thing keeping her warm was the small fire in the corner of the room. Lack of sleep was catching up with her and Sarah could feel herself dozing off. She rested her head against the top of the couch and closed her eyes.

* * *

It was dark by the time Sarah woke up. The rain was louder now and the fire had died. She stood up, stretched, and regretted it immediately. She let out a soft whimper as a sharp pain traveled through her ribs. A dull ache in her shoulder remained as well. Sarah reached to turn on a light, then stopped abruptly.

The noise she was hearing wasn't from the rain. They were footsteps. She closed her eyes and listened. About four or five people, she guessed. Fulcrum, most likely. Her hand immediately went to her gun and she crouched down on the floor behind the couch. She had to get out of here. If they ambushed her there would be no way she could fight them off. There was also a good chance they had a sniper positioned on one of the neighboring rooftops.

"Damn it."

Her best chance was probably through the bathroom window. It faced the ally where her car was parked. From the second floor it would be a hell of a drop, but it was manageable. She had two options. Stealth or surprise. Stealth was quieter and offered little to no injury, but it took longer and the sniper would most likely take her out before she hit the ground. Surprise it was then. Without hesitation Sarah ran straight to the bathroom window and jumped through it. She could hear the deafening roar of the glass as it broke around her and could feel the little shards cut into her skin. The gunshots came before she hit the ground. She got up and dashed to her car. A quick look in the rearview mirror revealed two operatives running toward her. Sarah threw the car into drive and slammed her foot down on the gas. The tires squealed and the gunshots rang out, but she turned the corner and was almost out of sight.

That was way too close of a call. At least now she knew for sure that Fulcrum was out to get her. Sarah didn't like being hunted. It pissed her off. She took another look in her rearview. No one was chasing her. Her breathing started to return to normal and her heart no longer felt like it was in overdrive. She took a deep breath to calm herself and for the first time noticed a sharp pain in her abdomen. At first she figured it was just her broken ribs yelling at her, but when she looked down she realized that she had a large piece of glass sticking out of her stomach. She wasn't sure what to do. She needed to stop driving and take care of her injury, but she was afraid of Fulcrum catching up with her. The blood was soaking her shirt which made it evident that her wound needed attention.

Reluctantly, Sarah let up on the gas and scanned the area for a good place to ditch her car. If she stayed in it and Fulcrum caught up she would be a sitting duck. She'd have to find shelter and figure out her next move. There was a dimly lit ally on the left that looked like a good spot. She turned into it and cut the engine. Sarah grabbed the extra gun from the glove box and left the car. The pain in her abdomen got worse as she walked and her vision was getting blurry. She ducked behind a dumpster and fought passing out. The wind grew colder and tiny raindrops landed all around her. Sarah took off her sweater, tore a piece off, and wrapped it around the shard of glass. She gripped it with both hands and pulled. Despite her best efforts a small scream escaped her lips. She heard gunshots and yelling in the distance then everything faded to black.


	4. Day 15 Sarah

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I try to crank these out as fast as possible, but it doesn't always happen. And thanks so much for the reviews. Keep them coming. They help me stay motivated.

* * *

"How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Not that much longer Miss Walker. A week at most. We just need to make sure you are completely healed."

Sarah sighed as the doctor walked away. She had already been in the hospital for a week and she didn't want to have to stay for another one. The only thing keeping Sarah there was the fact that she needed to be 100% so she could help Casey take down Fulcrum and keep Chuck safe. The throbbing in her abdomen told her that she still had some healing to do.

It was Casey who saved her. Director Graham was able to get a hold of him. He figured she had been lying in a pool of her own blood for over an hour when he finally found her. Casey took her to a hospital in Moscow then once she was stable they transferred to another hospital in Washington D.C. The good news was that he was able to take out the Fulcrum agents that were after her, the bad news was that there were an unknown number of them left to take care of. Casey had stayed with her the first few days she was in the hospital. He said it was because he wanted information from her, but she knew it was that he didn't want her to wake up alone. Casey had changed when they had been in LA. He was still the wise cracking tough guy who was trigger happy when it came to missions, but he was more caring than before. She attributed most of that to Chuck. He had a way of making people change for the better.

Sarah missed Chuck. Actually, missed wasn't a strong enough word. She felt like a part of her was missing without him. They had only been apart for a little over two weeks, but it seemed like so much longer. She was so tempted to call him. It would calm her so much if she could just hear his voice. A simple phone call was too dangerous, though. Sarah was positive that hearing his voice would make her want to run back to him as fast as she could. Part of her was ready to quit the CIA for him and that scared her. The CIA was the only thing she had ever really known. Director Graham gave her a chance when no one else would. Was she really prepared to throw all that away for a boy? Maybe.

This room was killing her. She needed to get some fresh air. Her wheelchair was sitting in the corner of the room next to the closet. She was pretty sure she could make it there on her own. She threw the covers off and sat up slowly. So far no pain. Next she swung her legs over the side of the bed and gently pushed herself into a standing position. One little step. A second. She could do this. Sarah laid her hand on the bedside table for support, but she lost her footing and fell, taking the table lamp with her. The crash of the glass took her back to the night she jumped through the window. She could see it so vividly and could almost feel the shards piercing her skin.

"Ma'am are you okay?" A worried voice asked from the doorway. Sarah assumed it was one of the nurses and ignored her. She wanted to get up on her own.

"Here, let me help you," the woman said rushing to her side. She grabbed Sarah's arm and hoisted her up. Sarah looked up to the woman and let out a small gasp.

"Ellie?"

"Sarah? Oh my God what are you doing here? Are you all right?"

Sarah was stunned. Ellie was one of the last people she expected to see. The other woman could tell that she was having trouble standing on her own and tried to guide her back to the bed. "Wheelchair, please. I need to get out of this room."

Ellie only nodded as she changed directions and helped Sarah get into the wheelchair. She pushed her down the hallway and into the courtyard without a word. Sarah was thankful for that. She hurried to come up with some kind of cover story as to why she was here. They stopped in the shade next to a large tree and Ellie sat on a bench across from her.

"Sarah is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. They were installing new windows in my building and I just happened to be walking into the lobby when one of them fell on me. I caught a pretty large shard of glass in my abdomen." Sarah hated lying to Ellie. The genuine concern in the other woman's eye's made it that much worse.

"That's horrible," Ellie said sounding slightly skeptical. "When did this happen?"

"About a week ago. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing in DC?"

"I came in for a surgery conference. There are a couple new procedures I'm really interested in."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sarah got up enough courage to form an apology. "I'm really sorry for leaving the way I did, without saying goodbye. It was just the only I knew of to do it. I'm not good at saying goodbye. And I'm sorry that I didn't at least give you a heads up to find a new bridesmaid. But mostly, I'm sorry for what I did to Chuck. You can't understand how sorry I am about that. I know you all must hate me."

"Sarah, we don't hate you. Yes, we were a little about the way you left, but we certainly don't hate you. We all love you."

Sarah was not prepared for that. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall. Ellie never failed to amaze her. She was so kind and compassionate. It felt good to have her there. Ellie was the closest thing she had to a sister. "Thank you. You don't know what that means to me."

Ellie smiled at her and stood up. "I wish I had more time to talk, but I have to catch my flight. It was really good to see you Sarah. Don't be a stranger ok?" Ellie said as she walked over to hug her.

Sarah smiled at her as they parted, but sadness quickly washed over her. "Ellie can you please not tell Chuck that you saw me? I don't want him to worry."

Ellie nodded her agreement. "He misses you."

"I miss him to."


	5. Day 47 Chuck

"Chuck are you going to be around for dinner tonight? I'm making my famous spaghetti."

"Sorry Sis," Chuck called from his room. "I'm going out tonight." Chuck could hear his sister's eager footsteps from down the hall. She probably thought he meant he had a date. He wished.

"Details! Who is she?" Ellie asked coming into his room.

"There is no she. I'm going out with the guys from work. We're celebrating finishing our latest project. It goes to the manufacturer tomorrow."

"Congratulations, Chuck," she said straightening his tie. He could see disappointment etched on her face and he sighed.

"I know you want me to start dating again, but I'm not sure if I'm in the right place right now. My new job is really taking off and I don't want any distractions."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hound you about dating like I used to. Sometimes it's better not to rush into anything after a break up. It gives you time to reassess the situation."

"Really?" Chuck was skeptical. Before Sarah, his sister would always get on his back about dating. She had been surprisingly mum on the dating talk since she got back from her conference in Washington, D.C. It freaked him out a little, but he welcomed it. He wasn't quite ready to let go of Sarah. It was still hard for him to think about what happened and all the words he wished he could have said to her. It was getting easier though. His new job really helped with that. He had purpose and a lot more to work towards than a minimum wage check at the Buy More.

"Yeah. You never know what's waiting around the corner," Ellie said. She gave him a small smile and left the room. His sister was acting weird. It must be all the wedding plans.

Chuck stole one last glance in the mirror to make sure he looked all right then grabbed his coat from the back of the chair, picked up his keys, and was out the door. He had to give up the Nerd Herder when he quit the Buy More and bought a Ford Focus with his first big paycheck. It was nice having a bigger income. Now he was going to be able to buy Ellie and Awesome a nice gift for their wedding. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to get them yet. At least, he had a few months to figure it out.

It was a quick drive to the restaurant. He shut off the car and scanned the front of the building for the valet. His eyes landed on a well dressed older man walking out of the restaurant flanked by two bodyguards.

"No! No, not here." Chuck pleaded as he flashed on the guy. He was a French tradesman named Philippe Marseille who the CIA believed was selling bio-weapons to terrorists. What was he supposed to do? He hadn't had a flash in months and he had no handler to report this to. He still had Beckman's number though. He should call her and report it.

Chuck threw his car in drive and headed back home. If he hurried he would be able to make it back to the restaurant for dinner. He went through the window in his room so he didn't alert Ellie. He kneeled by his bed and pulled out the old shoebox where he kept all his CIA related stuff. Beckman's number was somewhere in there. The yellow piece of paper was hidden behind the first real photo he and Sarah had taken. It was at the Halloween party. She wanted to give him something "real". He never really told her how much it meant to him. Until that point almost everything he had or knew about her was fake. It was a big first step in their relationship. Chuck unfolded the piece of paper and dialed Beckman's number. The operator's voice came on saying the number was disconnected.

"Damn CIA."

What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't just let Marseille roam free in LA. Looking back, he knew he should have asked Sarah about this. She would have told him some secret code or something to get in contact with the CIA. The only thing he could do now was try and find Marseille and catch him doing something illegal. That way he could call the police and have more to go on than telling them he flashes on people. He promised himself he was going to stay in the car this time. He had no one to protect him otherwise.

//////////////

Four hours and no Marseille. Chuck sucked at reconnaissance. He searched everywhere he could think of. Casey would be disappointed. You think he would have picked up some sort of spy skills from his two handlers.

It was a little past midnight and he was exhausted. He didn't even have enough energy to heat up the plate of spaghetti Ellie left for him on the table. After he brushed his teeth and threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt he pulled out the picture of him and Sarah from his shoebox. Seeing her tore his heart up in new ways he didn't think possible. Chuck had been so busy these past couple of weeks that he forgot how much he missed her. She was always there in the back of his mind, but seeing the picture of them brought all those memories rushing back. All he wanted to do was hear her voice again. It pained him beyond belief to know that he most likely would never get to. Never smell her perfume. Never anything.

There was always the hope that she'd come back one day. He knew it was a long shot, but it helped with the pain. There would be a point when he knew he would have to give up his hope and come to terms with the fact that she really was gone for good, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

With a sigh Chuck set the picture on his nightstand and turned off the light. He heard a faint buzzing sound and realized he left his phone on vibrate. His coworkers had probably been calling for hours, worried that he didn't show. He grabbed the phone from his jacket pocket and saw the five missed calls. He'd apologize in the morning. They wouldn't be too mad if he told them he had a family emergency or something. He set the phone on the nightstand next to the picture and climbed back into bed. Five minutes later the phone buzzed again.

"Damn, these guys do not give up."

The call came from a private number, but he answered anyway. "Hello."

There was no response. "Hello," he repeated a little annoyed. He just wanted to go to bed. Still no response. Chuck was about to hang up, but he thought he heard a soft sigh from the other end. He sat up in bed and turned on the light. Maybe he did get through to General Beckman and this was some sort of security thing.

"Uh I know there's someone there. If this is in response to a call I made today to a G Beckman then give me a sign or code or something."

Silence. Chuck knew the CIA was on the other line, but he had to make sure. He couldn't risk giving sensitive information about Marseille to the wrong hands. "Look I have intel Beckman needs. Text me the number I was supposed to call to get in touch with her so I know for sure who I think you are."

Sure enough a few seconds later he received a text with the correct number. "Philippe Marseille is a French terrorist supplier and he's in LA. I don't know what his exact intentions are and I tried to find his hideout, but I lost him after he left Prevot's Restaurant. I'm going back there tomorrow to see what I can find out from the staff and see if I can pick up his trail."

"Don't get involved. Marseille is dangerous and has eyes everywhere. He'll kill you."

He knew that voice. He longed for the person it belonged to. It couldn't really be her. His mind was playing tricks on him. A few moments passed before he could say anything. "I never thought I'd hear from you again."

"I mean it Chuck, don't get involved with Philippe Marseille. I'll alert the CIA and they'll take care of it."

"Sarah."

He knew she was about to hang up on him. She never planned on actually speaking to him. She was probably kicking herself for this now. He wished he could make her talk to him more. All he wanted to do was listen to her voice and know she was somewhere out there.

"Please just be safe. Don't do anything stupid."

"I love you," he said trying to get it all out before she hung up. He wasn't sure what compelled him to say it, not that it wasn't true, he just hadn't planned on ever getting the chance to tell her. Chuck wanted it to be special when he told her, not a rushed sentence at the end of an unexpected phone call. He just hoped she heard him.


	6. Day 47 Sarah

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! They mean so much and make me try to get these chapters out as quickly as possible.

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Sarah quietly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake the man lying next to her. She grabbed her dress, discarded from the rush of the night before, and slipped it back on. The agent scanned the room looking for the object that would lead her and Casey to the rest of Fulcrum. They had learned that James Maguire had been working with Fulcrum for the past two years and had the names of every agent on a hard drive. It was going to help her and Casey finish this thing. She just had to find it.

The first place she looked was on his desk. His laptop was there along with strewn papers, but no signs of the hard drive. The hotel room was small with few places to hide something. Sarah froze at the sound of James shifting in the bed, but the continued snoring assured her that he was still asleep. After ten minutes of searching, Sarah stumbled across a metal briefcase poking out from under the bed. She silently opened it and smiled. She grabbed the small device and stuck it in her purse. Sarah surveyed the room once more to make sure she had all her things then slid out of the room.

///////////////////////////

Sarah dropped off the hard drive at Casey's room, told him what happened, then left as quickly as possible. Once she got back to her room, she headed straight for the shower. She felt dirty. She always hated this part of the job, using her body to get what they needed, but it was a price she had to pay. With the help of the hard drive they would catch the rest of Fulcrum and she could put this whole mess behind her. She closed her eyes as the hot water hit her and her mind was filled with images of Chuck. She felt guilty. It's not like she was cheating on him. They were no longer a "couple", not that they ever really were, but they had _something_. And that something was enough to make her feel like a cheater.

An unwanted tear slid down her cheek and she willed herself to not let anymore fall. Before Chuck none of this would have hit her the way it was hitting her now. Chuck was the first time she had a semblance of a normal life and now that she had a taste she wanted more. If you would have told her two years ago that Sarah Walker wanted a picket fence and grandchildren she would have laughed at you, but now it was all she could think about. That's why she was doing this. She wanted that life and she wanted it with Chuck.

Sarah turned off the water and grabbed her robe. She fell into her nightly routine. Brush her teeth. Wash her face. Call Casey to go over the next day's mission. Put on her pajamas. Once she was ready for bed she would pull out the one picture she had of her and Chuck and set it on her nightstand. It helped her cling to her sanity on nights like these. All she wanted to do was call him. She needed to hear his voice. Truthfully, she had thought about this almost every night since she left him. Every night she was able to convince herself not to. It wasn't safe. Not for her anyway. Chuck would never know it was her. But she knew that once she opened that floodgate she would never be able to close it again.

"Screw it," she said to herself. If she ever needed to hear his voice it was tonight. She picked up her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart. Sarah held her breath as the phone rang. It seemed like forever, but after three rings he finally picked up.

"Hello."

Sarah smiled. It was amazing how one word from him was able to calm her.

"Hello?" she heard him say again. She sighed softly and closed her eyes. She flashed back to the day she first met him. She remembered walking into the Buy More and writing Chuck off as some nerd who would make for an easy assignment. How wrong she turned out to be. When Graham told her she would have to partner with Casey to protect the intersect she was a little upset. It was not the kind of assignment she wanted. Sarah wanted to be in some foreign country in the thick of some big mission. She thrived on danger. Funny how things change. Now she had the kind of assignment she dreamed of, but all she wanted to do was go back to LA and work at the Orange Orange.

"Uh I know there's someone there. If this is in response to a call I made today to a G Beckman then give me a sign or code or something."

Damn. She gave herself away. This was a bad idea. Then she processed what Chuck had said. Why would he need to call Beckman? Was he in trouble?

"Look I have intel Beckman needs. Text me the number I was supposed to call to get in touch with her so I know for sure who I think you are."

Well at least he didn't seem to know it was her. Maybe this was a good idea after all. She could help him and wouldn't even have to give herself away. She punched in the number she gave Chuck to get in touch with the NSA and waited for his response.

"Philippe Marseille is a French terrorist supplier and he's in LA. I don't know what his exact intentions are and I tried to find his hideout, but I lost him after he left Prevot's Restaurant. I'm going back there tomorrow to see what I can find out from the staff and see if I can pick up his trail."

"Don't get involved. Marseille is dangerous and has eyes everywhere. He'll kill you." The words left her mouth before she could stop them and she scolded herself.

"I never thought I'd hear from you again." The pain in his voice was unmistakable. Sarah had a clear picture of his pain etched face. Unfortunately, she'd seen it so many times and most of those times it was her causing it. What was she supposed to do? She wanted to answer him so badly. Tell him that she wished it didn't have to be this way. Instead she went for what was safest for both of them.

"I mean it Chuck; don't get involved with Philippe Marseille. I'll alert the CIA and they'll take care of it."

"Sarah." Her wall crumbled. She had to hang up. If she didn't do it now, she wouldn't have the strength to.

"Please just be safe. Don't do anything stupid," she pleaded. If she was going to do this for him he had to protect himself and stay alive. If he died now everything she did tonight and all the morally gray things she would be forced to do in the future would be for nothing. She was giving up her chance at a normal life to ensure that he kept his. She just prayed he somehow understood that. She brought the phone away from her ear to end the call, but she was too slow. Chuck had said those three little words that she was desperately trying to avoid.

"I love you."

Sarah ended the call and threw her phone to the other side of the bed. She was in shock. Not since her father said them to her had she heard those words from someone who meant them. It brought up too many emotions. Guilt was the strongest among them. He was loving her while she was forced to sleep with other men. Sarah put her head in her hands. She was going to complete her mission and destroy Fulcrum then she was going to go back to LA to be with Chuck. She just hoped that by that time it wouldn't be too late.


	7. Day 126 Chuck

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews. Keep them coming! And sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out.**

Chuck grabbed the last box and took one last look at his empty room. It was a strange feeling leaving this place. He felt like he was leaving for college again, going out into uncharted territory. This was a good thing though. It let him start a new chapter in his life and Ellie and Awesome could turn his old room into a nursery whenever they decided to have kids.

The newlyweds had just gotten back from their honeymoon. Chuck had wanted to be out before they returned, but work had been so hectic he didn't have the time to pack. Ellie was glad he was still here. She kept going on and on about how he didn't have to move, but he knew it was the right thing.

"This is the last one," he said walking out into the living room.

Awesome and Ellie were opening their wedding gifts and writing thank you cards. The ceremony was beautiful. Ellie looked radiant and Awesome, of course, looked quite good in a tux. The reception was small, only the people that really mattered were there. Well, except for one. Part of him expected her to show up. He would be talking to some guests, feel a tingling on the back of his neck, turn around, and she would be there smiling at him. She never showed. His better judgment told him there was no way she would or could, but after the brief phone call he had hope.

Hearing from her didn't kill him like he expected it would. It actually made him feel more connected to her. He couldn't really explain it. In a way it let him know that she cared. Sarah was probably in the middle of some huge mission constantly in danger, but she took the time to call him just to hear his voice. It was comforting to know she still thought about him. Though, it would be nice to know how she felt about his profession of love or if she even heard it.

"Are you sure you can't stay for dinner? It would be nice to have one last family dinner together."

"Ellie, it's not like I'm never going to be around. I'll probably be over for dinner all the time."

"Please," she begged.

"Okay, I'll stay." She hugged him and gave him her signature megawatt smile. Those tended to run in the Bartowski family. "So what have you guys been getting?"

"The usual stuff. One of my co-workers got us tickets for this amazing cruise to the Caribbean. I'm so excited."

"Babe, you're excited for everything. She got a bunch of new kitchen stuff. She screams every time she opens a gift," Awesome said handing her the next package.

"Who's this one from Honey?"

"I don't know. I didn't see a card."

"Open it up. It might be inside," Chuck offered from his seat next to Ellie.

"Oh you're right." Chuck watched his sister take out the envelope and examine it. A small smile formed on her lips as she read the card. "It's from Sarah," she said handing the card to Chuck. He opened it to read the inscription.

_Congratulations Ellie and Devon! I'm so happy for you two. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but I'm sure you had a beautiful ceremony. _

_Be Well,_

_Sarah_

He was speechless. Sarah never failed to surprise him.

"Oh my . . ." Ellie trailed off as she pushed back the tissue paper.

"What is it babe?" Awesome asked peering over the edge of the box.

"It's the china set I wanted. Sarah and I saw it when she helped me register for gifts. I fell in love with it, but I didn't add it to the registry because it was too expensive," Ellie explained taking the set out of the box. "I can't believe she remembered."

"Sarah has a way of surprising you like that," Chuck told her.

"Do you have a phone number I can contact her at? I want to thank her for this."

"Unfortunately, I don't. She didn't leave a return address on the card either."

"So you haven't talked to her since she left?"

"No," he lied. There was no way he could bring up the phone call without having to lie to Ellie more and he didn't want to do that.

"I'm sorry Chuck," Ellie said wrapping an arm around him.

"It's okay." It was the truth. He really was okay. Of course, he missed Sarah and he worried about her safety, but he wasn't falling apart. She wouldn't want that. When he was ready he'd start dating, but it wasn't high on his list of priorities right now. He was being given more responsibility at work and he felt like he had real direction in his life now. "Don't worry about me, I really am okay."

Ellie nodded and carefully slid her gift from Sarah back into the box. "Wait a second," she said pulling out a small envelope from the bottom of the box. "I think this is for you."

His sister handed him the envelope. His name was written in her delicate handwriting and his heart fluttered.

"I'm sorry Ellie, but I can't stay for dinner tonight," he said never taking his eyes from the envelope.

"I understand. Call me later?"

"Sure," he said grabbing his keys. They said their goodbyes and Chuck was out the door. He hopped in his car and took off. He was speeding, but he didn't care. It took all his willpower not to tear open the letter right there, but he knew it was better to wait until he got back to his new apartment.

As soon as he walked through the door he threw the keys on the counter and sat down. Chuck pulled the little envelope out of his pocket and took out the small card inside it. It was blank except for two words.

_Me too._

He stared at the small piece of paper in his hands.

_Me too._

The two words weren't much, but they were enough. Actually, they were more than enough. She loved him too. Sarah Walker loved him. Chuck felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest. He wished that there was more, but he knew this was all she could give him.

Her little note cemented what part of him already knew. He told himself he'd start dating again someday, but he knew he never would. He would wait for her. There was a good chance it would take a long time for her to come around, leave the CIA, and come back to him, but he was prepared to wait. All he wanted was her. Time didn't really mean much if he could have her someday.

Chuck read the card again and smiled. It all really was going to be okay.


	8. Day 365 Sarah

"Do you have any new intel on Agents Montana and Taylor?"

"Not much, sir. We believe they may have caught on to us and split up."

"That's not surprising. We can assume Fulcrum is fully aware they are being hunted and are not taking any unnecessary risks." Sarah didn't like that Director Graham referred to what they were doing has "hunting". It made her feel even less human than she already did.

"Should we split up and go after them separately?" Casey asked.

"No. You two have proven how well you work together; we don't want to take any chances. Make Montana your first priority. She is more dangerous than Taylor."

The transmission ended and Sarah walked wearily to the table and slumped in her chair. She pulled out the folder on Agent Montana and scanned the information she already read a thousand times. All of this was starting to take a toll on her. Lately, she felt more like an assassin than an agent. The muscles in her neck were in knots and her body ached all over. They had been in constant motion for months and this was the first time they had stayed in one place for more than three days. They had caught a lucky break with the list she stole from James Maguire. They knew the names of every Fulcrum agent and had been taking them out left and right.

"How many of them do you think we've found?" she asked.

"About half the list. We got lucky last month when we infiltrated their meeting and got to ten of them at once. Now that they know about us it's going to get harder. They're going to start grasping at straws soon. That's when we have to worry."

Casey would never admit it, but she knew he was tired as well. It didn't take very much to aggravate him lately, not that he was ever the picture of tranquility, but there were definitely changes in him. Still, she wouldn't want anyone else on her side. In some strange way they had become friends. A mission like this would do that to anyone. What a difference a year makes.

Today was a milestone for many reasons. The most painful one being that it marked the first year she had been away from Chuck. That life seemed like it was lifetimes away. She tried not to think about him that much. It seemed wrong picturing his goofy grin or his loving eyes when she had so much blood on her hands. When she sent Ellie and Awesome's wedding gift she left a little note in the box for Chuck. She really hoped he got it. Sarah almost didn't send it, but she needed to. It was the last time she allowed herself contact with him. The next time she would contact him would be when this was all over and they could be together. Well, if she lived through this anyway.

The day's other milestone was one she celebrated quietly for many years. Normally, she would just buy herself a new outfit or take herself out to a nice dinner and be thankful that she was still alive. There would be no celebrating this year. All she was going to do was spend the rest of the night poring over files trying to track down Agent Montana.

After an hour of going through old case files and looking over pictures they had nothing new. Sarah slammed the folder down on the table and let out a loud sigh. "This isn't going to help. She's going to change all her techniques because she knows we're on to her."

"Do you have bright idea on what else we're going to do?"

Sarah thought for a moment then looked down. "No."

Casey closed his laptop and walked over to the table. He sat down across from her and grabbed a few of the files she already went through. He looked at them for a moment then tossed them aside. "We should take the rest of the night off to regroup. Tomorrow morning we'll go back to the warehouse and see if they left anything behind. Taylor is sloppy. Our best chance of finding Montana may be to track down Taylor and get him to talk."

Sarah liked that idea. She had worked with Agent Taylor once before. He was predictable in a crisis and right now he was scared as well. It was probably their best shot. Casey got up out of the chair and started packing up his stuff. Sarah didn't leave her seat. She just stared out the window, too tired to move.

Casey cleared his throat and Sarah turned to face him. He had his keys in hand ready to leave, but instead he pulled out a small brown bag from his backpack and awkwardly handed it to her. She looked inside and saw it filled with an assortment of cookies.

"Happy Birthday Walker."

It took her a minute to fully process what he said. "How'd you know?"

Casey shrugged. "You're my partner."

"Thank you," she said touched. It had been years since anyone besides her knew her birthday. It had been even longer since anyone bought her a birthday gift.

Casey turned and walked out of the room. Sarah stared after him in disbelief. Some people never failed to amaze her. She picked a chocolate chip cookie out of the bag and took a bite. It was delicious. She let her mind wander back to Chuck. If there was one day she allowed herself to think about him, it should be today.

She remembered a day they went to the pier. It was about a week before she left. They had gotten a lot closer after the night on the rooftop when Longshore almost took Chuck away. Her walls had started to crumble and she was pretty sure he knew that. They had just finished dinner and Chuck was determined to win her a stuffed pink dog from one of the arcade machines. Sarah laughed at the image she got of him stretching his fingers and cracking his neck before putting the first quarter in. He had spent three dollars just clearing away the other animals that covered her pink dog. Then he spent another four trying to get it out.

"It's okay, Chuck. I don't really need it," she had told him.

He looked at her like she insulted him. "I'm really much better at this than I look." He turned his attention back to the machine and she placed her hand on his back for support. It only took him two more tries to win the dog. He beamed at her triumphantly as he handed it to her. She had hugged the stuffed animal then hugged Chuck.

"What are you going to name him?"

"It's pink. Isn't it supposed to be a girl?"

"Boy dogs can be pink."

She had laughed and held the dog out in front of her. "How about Rex?"

"A very manly name for a sissy looking dog." She punched him in the arm and he stiffened. "Rex is good. I like Rex," he said gently rubbing the side of his arm.

Sarah wondered where Rex was now. The CIA probably threw him away when they came to clean out her hotel room in LA. It saddened her to think he was sitting at the bottom of a dumpster buried under people's trash. She got up from her chair and changed her clothes. Then she grabbed her bag of cookies and got in bed. It felt good to be able to relax for a few hours. Sarah closed her eyes and let her mind wander to her other favorite memories of Chuck. She savored the time because she knew tomorrow she would be the hunter again. Right now she was more than happy just being a girl who missed her boyfriend.


	9. Days 584 to 587

**A/N: Once again thank you all so much for the reviews! I'm really glad you like the story because I love writing it. **

**Day 584 **_**4:30 PM**_** (Sarah)**

When Sarah woke up the first thing she felt was the cold metal of the handcuffs against her wrist. Then came the disorientation. Then the vomiting. She took a few deep breaths to quell the unease in her stomach then she opened her eyes again. Sarah had no idea where she was or how she got here. The last thing she remembered was catching up to Agent Montana near a small church on the border of Panama and Colombia. She was about to draw her gun then she woke up in this place.

Where was she anyway? From the inside it looked like a small shack. She was laying on a dirt floor and it was dark except for where light streamed in from the cracks in the wood planks that made her prison. Sarah tried to sit up, but it was no use, she was still disoriented. Instead she wracked her brain trying to remember the details that led her to Panama.

She and Casey had been following Agent Montana for months. They were able to take out other agents in the meantime, but Montana was always their first priority. About a week ago they caught a young Fulcrum agent who was easily persuaded to talk. He told them Montana was headed for one of the Fulcrum safe houses in Panama. He also told them that Fulcrum knew Sarah and Casey were hunting them. That scared her. When people get desperate and frightened they get dangerous. It made her worry about Chuck. Graham and Beckman would put Chuck in an underground facility in a second. Fortunately, no one in Fulcrum knew Chuck was the intersect. They were still convinced it was Bryce. As long as they thought that, Chuck was safe.

Sarah was jolted out of her thoughts by the sudden sound of gunfire. She bolted upright, ignoring the urge to vomit again. People were shouting now, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. The chaos ended as suddenly as it came and everything was quiet again.

_What the hell is going on?_ Sarah tried to reach for the knife she always had hidden in the waistband of her pants, but it wasn't gone. Who was she kidding? Fulcrum would have made sure to strip her of all her weapons. A shadow passed over her shack and the small door to her left was violently flung open. A large man with a mask walked in carrying a gun. Sarah sat up as straight as she could and put on brave face. She looked up to her captor and was about to say something when he raised his gun to her.

**Day 584 **_**7:00 PM**_** (Chuck)**

"Ellie is going to kill me!" Chuck hastily organized the papers on his desk, grabbed his coat, and hurried out of the building. His sister was throwing Morgan a birthday party and he was supposed to be there a half hour ago. He lost track of time at work and still had to go home and change.

"Goodnight, Mr. Bartowski," the janitor said as Chuck jogged past him.

"You too, Steve," he offered over his shoulder as he opened the door. Chuck was leaving the office later and later these days. His company was putting the finishing touches on a huge project that he was pretty influential in creating. Everyone told him he was going to be promoted at the launch party in a few days, but Chuck didn't want to get his hopes up. Either way, he loved his job. It was so much better that working at the Buy More.

By the time he reached his apartment he had two missed calls from Ellie and a text message from Awesome asking him to pick up more ice on his way to the party. He changed his clothes, wrapped Morgan's gift, and was ready to leave when he heard a soft chirping coming from his computer. He was going to ignore it, but he found himself walking over to it and seeing two people he never really wanted to see again.

"Hello, Mr. Bartowski."

"General Beckman. Director Graham. Nice to see you again," he lied. "Uh, how can I help you?"

Graham and Beckman exchanged a look, and then Graham addressed him. "We have a situation. It's not safe for you right now. I made a promise to Agent Walker that I would exhaust all options before putting you into protective custody and in order for me to do that, I need you to cooperate with us."

Chuck tried to swallow the fear rising in his stomach. This wasn't happing. He thought he was done with this life. "What's going on?"

"We have reason to believe that your identity as the intersect may be revealed."

"How is that possible? Was Bryce captured?"

"No. Agent Larkin is still working to take down Fulcrum."

"Then h-," Chuck trailed off. There were only five people that knew he was the intersect; Sarah, Casey, Bryce, Graham, and Beckman. If three of them were fine, that left Casey and Sarah. He didn't want to think about what was happening to them if there was a chance his identity could be revealed.

"There is no reason to panic Mr. Bartowski," Beckman said. "We just want to take precautions to ensure you're safety and the safety of the intersect. We are sending an agent to look after you. Do whatever he says. If you don't cooperate we will be forced to take you into custody. Do you understand?"

Chuck only nodded. The transmission ended and he sat down on his bed. This was not happening. He was worried about Sarah and Casey. And he was worried about what was going to happen to him if Fulcrum learned who he was.

"Don't freak out."

**Day 587 **_**3:00 AM**_** (Sarah)**

"Come on Sarah. You know how to make this stop. Just tell me where Larkin is."

Sarah watched as the man in front of her took out a handkerchief and wiped her blood off his knuckles. It took all her energy to keep focused and she could hardly process what he was saying. She knew what he wanted though. Bryce. Even if she knew where Bryce was she wouldn't tell him. Protecting him meant protecting Chuck. He could do whatever he wanted to her, but she wouldn't talk. She was pretty sure he knew that too. Too bad it wouldn't stop him.

The man walked up to her and hit her again. Her head whipped to the side and she heard something in her neck crack.

"This is the last time I'm going to ask. Tomorrow I won't be as nice. Where's Bryce Larkin?"

Sarah spit the blood out of her mouth and smirked at the man. "You're going to have to try harder than that." She regretted the words the moment they were out of the mouth, but the look on his face was almost worth all the pain that was about to come her way.

**Day 587 **_**12:45 PM**_** (Chuck)**

This was the last thing Chuck needed to happen today. When he went home on his lunch break he found that a pipe burst in his apartment and everything was drenched. The maintenance people said they needed to replace the carpets and make sure there would be no mold damage. He had to move back in with his sister until they finished the renovations.

He was setting up his old room with the few things he was able to salvage from his apartment. Ellie went to buy him a new suit for his party tonight and Awesome rushed off to the hospital after getting a page. It was eerily quiet in the apartment and he was a little on edge. He'd been a little jumpy since Beckman and Graham contacted him. The new agent hadn't showed up yet. Chuck was partly happy about that. He wanted to keep the government out of his life for as long as possible, but he knew he would feel safer once the agent arrived.

He heard the faint click of the front door and froze. There was no way that could be Ellie or Awesome. He scanned the room for something he could use as a weapon, but found nothing. Deciding escape was his best option; Chuck ran to his window and was halfway out when he heard a chuckle from behind him.

"Still haven't grown a spine, huh Bartowski?"

"Casey!"

Chuck stepped back into the room and hugged Casey. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see you!"

Casey grunted and pushed Chuck off him. Chuck took in his appearance. He had a faded bruise on the right side of his face and a small cut above his left eye. Then it hit him. If Casey was

here . . . .

"Where's Sarah?"

"That's classified."

"You and her were the only two unaccounted for. If you're here then she's the reason I may be in danger. And that means she's in danger."

"Walker can take care of herself. You're the intersect, we need to keep you safe."

"Casey, please just tell me what's going on."

The other man hesitated then sighed. "Walker and I were in Panama chasing down a Fulcrum agent. It was a trap. They captured us and held us in different rooms. The shacks they put us in were old. I was able to pry the chains from the wall and escaped. I tried to get to Walker, but her shack was on the opposite side of the facility. They opened fire and I ran."

Chuck could tell that Casey was upset. Running away was not something Casey liked to do, especially when he had to leave someone behind. "We have to go back. We have to save her!"

"A team was sent down there to get her. The only thing we have to do is stay here and not draw attention to ourselves."

"What's the cover for you being here?" Chuck didn't like that they weren't going to do anything to save Sarah, but he knew there was no point in fighting.

"My job in Seattle didn't pan out. I moved back into my old apartment and am looking for a new job."

"Well I guess it's a good thing my new apartment flooded. We don't have any openings in our building. It would have been hard for you to keep tabs on me," Chuck said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that."

"What!? You flooded my apartment?"

"Like you said. It would have been hard to keep tabs on you."

**Day 587 **_**12:45 PM**_** (Sarah)**

Sarah woke up to the sound of dripping water. There was a leaky pipe outside her new cell that she used to get water. After the gunfight on her first day here Fulcrum moved her to a different holding area. This one was underground. It was cold. Sarah didn't really feel it though. Her whole body felt numb. She welcomed it though. As soon as the shock to her system wore off, Sarah was pretty sure she would feel the beating she got last night.

Surprisingly, there was no guard outside her cell. There had been the day before. It was probably just a change in shift. The new one would probably be here soon. It's not like she could go anywhere. Three of the four walls were rock, probably part of an old cave. The fourth wall was bulletproof glass. Even if she did get out and got past the guards, she wouldn't make it very far. Sarah didn't think she could stand on her own let alone mount an escape.

She leaned her head against the cold stone and closed her eyes. She was so tired of all this. If she made it out of here she was done. She would do what she needed to keep Chuck safe, but nothing more. No more knife fights. No more running for her life. No more killing. She smiled. A normal life. It sounded so nice. What made it better was that it would be a normal life with Chuck.

Sarah wondered what it would be like. Would they get married? Would they have kids? Would she get a new job or still work in some capacity for the CIA? Not that any of that really mattered, just being with Chuck was enough.

There were footsteps outside. They were heavy. It was probably the man coming to take her for another interrogation session. Probably the last one. Fulcrum wouldn't waste too much time with her. If she didn't tell them about Bryce today, Sarah was pretty sure they would kill her. It was strange thinking about a future with Chuck and in the next moment knowing she was going to die in a matter of minutes.

Sarah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was trying to find some kind of peace. All she wanted was for Chuck to be safe when this was all over. It was comforting knowing that Graham and Beckman wanted Fulcrum gone as much as she did. They would not stop until they were obliterated. The footsteps were getting louder. They were almost to her door. She closed her eyes again and pictured Chuck. He was the last thing she wanted to see.

The footsteps stopped and the door flew open.

"Agent Walker?"

Sarah's eyes flew open. He was CIA. She knew him. They had worked together before. "Agent Summers?"

"I need to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

"Not really."

The agent helped her to her feet and half carried her out of the facility. There was a helicopter waiting for her outside. There were at least fifty CIA and NSA agents that she could see. This was it. They would capture almost all of the last Fulcrum agents.

"Where am I going?"

"Hospital," Summers shouted above the noise of the helicopter. He helped her into it then started to back away.

"No. I need to get to Los Angeles."

"Director Graham told me you'd say that."

Sarah stared at him until he caved. "Fine. The helicopter will take you to an airstrip where you'll board a plane that will take you to LA. At least let one of the doctor's take a look at you on the way."

Sarah smiled. "Thank You."

**Day 587 **_**10:00 PM**_** (Chuck)**

Chuck was tired of hearing the word "congratulations". To be completely honest, he didn't care about the promotion anymore. He was worried about Sarah. Casey said the CIA would save her, but something in his tone made Chuck think that even he wasn't so sure. He didn't even want to be at this party, but he knew it was important to keep up appearances.

He escaped to the balcony and welcomed the cool air against his face. Looking out at the city lights made him feel empty. Sarah had a similar view from her old apartment. For the first time, he seriously doubted if he'd ever get to see her again. Before it was just a fleeting thought in his mind, but now it seemed more like a real possibility. What would he do if she died? He couldn't love anyone else. He didn't want to. The weight of the thought made him want to curl into a ball bawl like a baby. If he had any more alcohol in him there was a chance he might actually just do that. Instead he just rest his elbows against the railing and continued to look out at the city lights.

**Day 587 **_**10:05 PM**_** (Sarah)**

It took all Sarah's willpower not to run through the ballroom in order to find Chuck. It was still hard for her to walk, but the sleep she got on the plane helped. It took a lot of make-up to hide her bruises and make her look presentable, but she thought she did a pretty good job. It was odd to think about the day's events. This afternoon she was sitting in a cell thinking she was going to die and now she was in an evening gown at a swanky LA party looking for Chuck. Her life was strange.

Sarah had scanned the room twice, but saw no sign of Chuck. She walked over to the bar, but he wasn't there either. She turned around to ask someone, then caught a glimpse of a figure on the balcony. She quickly made her way towards the door. Sarah opened it as quietly as she could and stepped through.

**Day 587 **_**10:10 PM**_** (Chuck)**

It was probably time he got back to the party. After all, it was _his_ party. He'd make the rounds one last time, thank his bosses, and then head home early. For some reason he couldn't make himself move. He was rooted to the floor. A few more minutes of air wouldn't hurt.

Chuck could faintly hear the music from the band. He had never been a huge fan of classical music, but tonight it seemed oddly fitting. The sliding balcony door opened then closed quietly. Still he didn't move. Whoever it was probably just came out for a smoke break. He waited another moment, took a deep breath, and turned around.


	10. Days 587 to 588

**A/N: Once again thank you all for the reviews. I know I'm a horrible person for ending with a cliffhanger like that then making you wait forever for a new chapter. Hopefully this will be worth the wait. I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas/Holiday and have a Happy New Year!**

**Day 587 **_**10:15 PM (Chuck)**_

They stood there for minutes just staring at each other. Chuck was stunned and even if he knew what to say he didn't think his voice would work. Sarah was standing mere feet from him. It was too much to take in.

The first thing he noticed was how tired she looked. There were dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders slumped in a way that made it seem like she was ready to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. As he studied her face closer, he could see the faint black and blue bruises hidden under her makeup. A sense of rage rushed through him that he hadn't quite experienced before. He wanted to make the person that hurt her pay. Not like he'd actually ever be able to find them or do anything. If someone was able to hurt Sarah Walker that badly, Chuck knew he didn't even have a shot. Then he met her eyes. They said so much with that one look. Hurt, longing, love, fear, relief. Chuck felt like he was back in the Buy More seeing her for the first time. She took his breath away then and she was doing it again now.

A smile began to form on her lips, one he was ready to return, and then disappeared as her eyes darted past him to something across the street. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. She stepped toward him, her eyes never leaving the spot behind him, and pushed him to the ground. Sarah shielded them both as the bullet passed where he was standing moments ago and shattered the sliding glass door. Out of nowhere, Sarah pulled her gun out and returned fire.

Chuck watched as his coworkers reacted to the gunfire. Some had fallen to the ground and covered their heads while others ran out of the main ballroom to somewhere safer. Sarah jumped back on top of him, protecting him from the next wave of bullets. He could feel her breath against his ear. Chuck never could seem to catch a break. The moment Sarah walked back into his life so did the chance of death at any moment. He started laughing. He had the worst luck. Sarah lifted her head to look at him incredulously, but it only made him laugh harder. She seemed to pick up on the joke and started to laugh with him. He missed that sound so much. A bullet whizzed past them and broke the flower pot next to them. They both fell silent and he could see Sarah scold herself for losing focus. Some things never change.

**Day 587 **_**10:15 PM (Sarah)**_

So many emotions hit her at once that Sarah didn't know what to do. She just stood there staring at him. It was a moment she never really thought would happen. He was even more handsome than she remembered. His hair was a little shorter, but still long and goofy enough to be Chuck. That was really the only recognizable difference she could see. Sarah was glad he hadn't changed much. She had changed enough for the both of them.

The look on Chuck's face made her want to melt. If she had any doubts that he loved her, that look would tell her the truth. She wanted to say something to him, but opted instead for a smile. Then something behind him shifted quickly and she reverted to spy mode. It was a sniper a floor above them across the street. Acting on impulse, she speared Chuck to the ground and shielded him. Their attacker shot at them again and Sarah returned fire. After getting a few shots off she fell back on top of Chuck. She felt his arms wrap around her instinctively protecting her head. She was supposed to be the one protecting him, but he always made sure to protect her. It was one of the things she loved most about him, even though it got them into trouble sometimes and made her job harder.

Out of nowhere he started laughing. Sarah lifted her head to meet his gaze. It only made him laugh harder. It was good to hear him laugh again. It was even better being near him. Of course, this had to happen during a gunfight. She laughed along with him at the irony of it all. A bullet flew past them and shattered a flower pot. Focus Walker. Get Chuck out of here, take care of the gunman, then there will plenty of time to get reacquainted. She got off a good shot and the man fell out of sight, but she wasn't sure if he was just dodging the bullet or if she'd hit him.

"He's Fulcrum," she heard Casey shout as he came up behind her. "He got away before the CIA came to rescue you and arrest the rest of them."

"Who is he?"

"They call him Agent X. Real name unknown. He seems to be one of their leaders."

"What else do we know about him," she asked her eyes never leaving the window.

"Not much. He's good at getting information out of people. I'd guess it was him who gave you those bruises."

Both Sarah and Chuck's heads snapped to look at Casey. "Take Chuck home. Make sure he's safe and figure out why Agent X is here. I'm going after him." She brushed past Casey without glancing back at Chuck. He would beg her not to go and she didn't have to willpower to say no to him. She was going to end this for good.

**Day 587 **_**10:30 PM (Chuck)**_

"Where's she going?" Chuck asked getting up to follow Sarah.

"Don't worry about her. We're leaving."

"No we're not."

The other man sighed loudly and grabbed Chuck by the arm. "If you follow her you'll just get her killed. She can't protect you and find Agent X at the same time."

"At least go help her. I'll be fine."

Casey opened Chuck's car door and threw him in the driver's seat. "For once will you just listen to me?"

Chuck nodded instantly. "Go straight home. Lock all the doors. Call General Beckman and tell her what's going on. She'll send the nearest Agent to look after you. Got it?"

"Got it."

Casey shut is door and took out his gun. "Thank you Casey."

"If you die, Walker is going to kill me," Casey said as he ran across the street to find Sarah. Chuck put his keys in the ignition and started the car. He would do exactly what Casey said. He had been out of the spy world for awhile and knew he wouldn't be much help anyway. There was a tap on his window and he looked up expecting to see Casey with more instructions, but instead he was staring at a masked man pointing a gun at him. The man opened the car door and hauled Chuck out.

"What's the problem sir?" Chuck asked pretending he didn't know who the other man was. No response came, but a moment later he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and everything turned black.

**Day 588 **_**1:10 AM (Sarah)**_

"Where is he?"

"Hell if I know. Bartowski never listens."

"Do you think Agent X got him?"

"Maybe. I don't know what they'd want with him though. He came here for you."

Sarah sat on Chuck's empty bed and put her head in her hands. The moment she walked through the front door she knew something was wrong. Neither Ellie nor Awesome were home and the house was too quiet. Why would Fulcrum capture Chuck when they didn't know he was the intersect? With little resources and agents left why was X bothering with her? Did he want revenge because she got away? If she were him she would have completely disappeared by now.

"What if he's not here for me?" Sarah asked jumping up from the bed. "Fulcrum knew we were in LA protecting something. They probably know Chuck is connected to Bryce. They're grasping at straws. Maybe X figures he can get something out of him."

"Why does he even care anymore? Almost all of Fulcrum is gone," Casey said from his lookout spot by Chuck's window.

"Whoever has the intersect has the secrets of the United States Government and that would give them a lot of power," came a voice from the doorway. "Agent X doesn't give a damn about Fulcrum anymore. Once he has the intersect he won't need them anyway."

"Bryce? What are you doing here?"

"I heard X got away. Figured he might come here. Guess I was right."

Bryce was one of the last people Sarah expected to see. She thought he was still deep undercover somewhere. He did always have a knack for showing up randomly.

"Do you have a plan Larkin or are you just giving me another opportunity to kill you?"

Bryce smiled, but ignored the second part of Casey's comment. "Not really. All I know is that X will do whatever he can to make Chuck talk. Chuck won't last long under torture and since he doesn't know where I am, he'll eventually tell X that he is the intersect. Our best option is to split up and try to find X before that happens."

Sarah hated the thought of Chuck being tortured. Bryce was right. Chuck would eventually break and give himself up. Then the whole world would be in trouble, not just her world. They didn't have enough time to scour the city. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"Do you know of any hideouts Fulcrum had in the LA area?"

"A few. They move around a lot and never go to the same place twice. It helps keep them hidden."

"X isn't worried about staying hidden. He won't waste too much time with Chuck. He most likely went to the closest hideout he knew of."

"Bryce can you show us the closest hideout from Chuck's last location?" Sarah was beginning to form a plan.

"What are we going to do, Sarah? Go to them all one by one? There are hundreds. Plus what are we going to do when we get there? Break down the door and demand he gives Chuck back?"

In the blink of an eye Sarah drew her gun on Bryce. "No, we are going to give him exactly what he wants. You."

"Then what's going to happen once he figures out I'm not the intersect? He'll just go after Chuck again."

"He'll never find us."

Bryce sighed. "Sarah I know you won't shoot me. You might as well put the gun down."

Sarah took a step towards him. "I don't think you realize just how badly I want to get Chuck back."


	11. Day 588 Chuck

"Charles Irving Bartowski. Twenty six years old. Former Nerd Herd associate at Burbank Buy More and current hot shot software developer. Brother of Eleanor Fay Bartowski and soon to be brother-in-law of Devon Woodcomb. Former Stanford student and roommate of Bryce Larkin. Anything else I should know?" Agent X asked closing Chuck's file and setting it back down on the table.

"No. I think you pretty much got it all." Chuck tried to hide the fear rising in him. This man knew everything about him. He was tied to a chair in the middle of a small room. It looked like an old abandoned office building. Most of the florescent lights were broken, leaving the room dimly lit.

"See I know you're lying to me." Agent X calmly leaned against the end of the table. Looking at him you'd think they were having a conversation about the latest episode of Lost during their lunch break. "I have surveillance video of you with Agent Sarah Walker and Major John Casey. And I saw you with them last night."

Despite his best efforts to hide his nervousness, Chuck swallowed and retreated farther into the chair, trying to distance himself as much as possible from the Fulcrum agent. "I don't know anything about them being agents. Casey worked at Buy More with me and Sarah is my ex. She worked at the Wienerlicious for awhile then at The Orange Orange. You must have your facts wrong."

"I don't believe you, Chuck. Walker and Casey are two of the government's top agents. They wouldn't send them to protect a regular guy. You're either a very important analyst or asset. Either way, I don't really care. The real reason you're here is because I want to know where Bryce Larkin is."

"I know this is starting to sound redundant, but I don't know. I haven't seen or heard from Bryce since he stole my girlfriend and got me kicked out of Stanford. We weren't exactly friends after that."

Agent X stood up and started pacing. "Look I know you think I'm the bad guy. Fulcrum was designed to become an international organization that aimed to help the people the world's major governments ignored. All we wanted to do was make the world a better place."

Chuck scoffed. He had flashed on enough Fulcrum dealings to know this wasn't true. They didn't know the exact purpose of Fulcrum, but he knew without a doubt it wasn't for world peace. X was feeding this story to him to get him to talk. What worried him was that X seemed to believe what he was saying was true. The other man's demeanor changed in an instant. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Chuck. Gone were the relaxed stance and the calm tone to his voice.

"What? You think what Walker and Casey is doing is admirable? They hunted us like animals. Killed most of us and imprisoned the rest. These were good people who devoted their life to this organization. They were some of the finest people I ever worked with and they were murdered in cold blood."

Cold blood? Chuck didn't believe that. He didn't like the thought of Sarah having to kill anyone, but he knew she would never kill a person for no reason. The members of Fulcrum were not good people, Chuck was sure of that. If Sarah did have to kill them, she did it for the right reasons. Still, an unease settled on him. Maybe Sarah wasn't the same woman she used to be. It had been about a year and a half since he'd last talked to her. It was more than enough time for a person to really change, especially under the type of circumstances he knew she was in. The thought scared him. He knew he'd changed a lot in the past year and a half as well. What if they weren't the same people they fell in love with. Chuck knew he would be in love with Sarah no matter what. No matter how much she may have changed, she would always be the woman that owned his heart. He was confident nothing would ever change that. But could she still love him? If she did, was it enough to build a life with him? He found himself more frightened of the prospect of her leaving again than the man in front of him.

"I'll be back in an hour. It'll give you some time to think about all of this. Just tell me where Bryce Larkin is and you'll be free to go," Agent X said, his voice returning to its initial calm tone. "You look surprised Chuck."

"It's just . . . I thought you were going to torture me or something."

"I'm not a monster. I'd rather have you cooperate, but if you don't I will be forced you use extreme measures."

With that Agent X was gone. What was he going to do? He had no idea where Bryce was. Chuck knew he would not last long under torture. Eventually he'd give in and tell X that he was the intersect. Then the whole world would be in danger.

* * *

If Chuck had to guess he'd say he'd been sitting there for about forty five minutes. He was too scared to be a good judge of time though. Either way, X would be back soon. He tried to come up with some plan on how to get out of here, but nothing came to him. Now he just tried to brace himself for what was going to come next. He asked Sarah about torture once. They had been on a stakeout trying to catch South American drug smugglers.

"Why do you want to know about torture?" she had asked turning to him.

"Well . . . you know, in case the situation comes up."

"I'd never let anyone torture you," she told him nonchalantly. She acted like it was the easiest promise she ever made, like it was never going to be a question. It wasn't until now. Not that he blamed any of this on her. The one time he listened about staying in the car . . .

"Is there a course at the Academy that taught you how to deal with it?"

"Yes, but I won't put you through that." Sarah turned back to the task at hand and checked the monitors for any new activity. "The best thing to do is to try and block it out of your mind. Think of something happy. They tell us to focus on a good memory. And never let them know they're breaking you. That's when they get all the power."

"Is that all? Think good thoughts? Does that even really help?"

The look she gave him next was seared into his memory. She had turned to him again. The pain and sadness in her eyes was unmistakable, but she smiled softly at him trying to wave it off. "You'd be surprised." Then she paused. Minutes passed as she pretended to work, but he knew she was somewhere far away. Chuck didn't want to think about what horrible things could have happened to Sarah to make her look so . . . broken. "I guess it just depends on the person and the situation. Sometimes nothing can help."

That was all he got out of the conversation. He saw her walls go back up and they remained silent for the rest of the mission. He would take her advice now. He tried to think of the happiest memory he had. Something he could really latch onto. After racking his brain he couldn't come up with one strong enough to lose himself in. Maybe it didn't have to be a memory. He could think about the future. The happiest future he knew would be one with Sarah. That's something he could really latch onto. There was a soft tapping noise and Chuck braced himself for what was to come next.

"Psst."

That definitely wasn't Agent X. Chuck looked around, but couldn't locate the source of the noise.

"Up here moron," the voice said from above. Chuck looked up and saw an air vent a little to the left of him.

"Casey?"

"Shut up. Don't say anything. Just listen. When Agent X comes back, tell him that Bryce Larkin is staying at the abandoned motel on 8th street. Tell him he was hurt on a mission and came to you for help, but you refused him. You're going to have to sell it. If X believes you he'll leave then I'll come down and get you. Got it?"

Chuck nodded and went over Casey's instructions in his head. A moment later X walked back into the room and smiled at him.

"Have you given any more thought to my question, Mr. Bartowski?"

"Yes."

"Well are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Chuck did his best to look resigned. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Bryce is in LA. He was hurt on a mission a few weeks ago and he's staying at the old motel on 8th street while he recovers."

Agent X eyed him suspiciously. "Not that I'm not appreciative, but what made you change your mind?"

"He ruined my life back at Stanford. He came back to ask for my help, but I wouldn't do anything for him. He made his choice."

X pondered that for a moment, seemed to accept it, and then took a menacing step towards him. "I'm going to check out this motel. If there is no sign of Larkin and I find you lied to me . . . ," X trailed off letting Chuck fill in the blanks. He turned to leave, but Chuck stopped him.

"If you find Bryce will you let me go?"

Agent X just smiled at him them walked away. Chuck's heart sank, then he remembered Casey. He watched as Casey took the vent off and deftly jumped down. "Good work Bartowski."

"Is Bryce going to be there?" he asked as Casey untied him.

"Yes. X took the bait and will walk right into Walker's trap."

"Are going to help her?"

Casey grunted and pushed Chuck through the door. "No. You are going home. I'm going to make sure you stay there."

"But-"

"Walker will be fine. Bryce is with her. They can handle Agent X."

Chuck sighed, but understood. At least this would be over soon. Then he could see Sarah. He just had to be patient.


	12. Day 589 Sarah

**A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews. I really do appreciate them and that you are enjoying the story. Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out. I hope you all find it worth the wait!**

"That was Casey," Sarah said sticking her phone in her back pocket. "Agent X took the bait. He's on his way and Chuck's safe." A wave of relief passed over Sarah when Casey told her Chuck was safe. Now she could focus on capturing X and getting him back to CIA headquarters. It would take some coercion and a lot of luck, but she was sure X would eventually tell the CIA all about Fulcrum so they could prevent a similar situation from arising in the future.

"Great," Bryce said with a hint of sarcasm. He was lying on the lone bed in the motel room with his hands behind his head. He looked smug and Sarah felt a bolt of anger pass through her.

"What's your problem?"

"This whole plan of yours is stupid Sarah. We should have had Casey just kill X when he had the chance."

"And what would that accomplish? We have more use out of X alive than dead."

Bryce sighed and sat up. "No, _you _have more use out of X if he's alive. With him gone, there would virtually be no way for Fulcrum to start up again. People may try, but they'd never make it past the first recruitment. Once he's in CIA custody he will sit in a cell that any good agent can infiltrate and break him out. Then a few years from now we'd be having this same conversation. You're just doing this because of some vendetta you have against him. And for Chuck."

"So what if I am? My assignment is to protect him."

"But that's not why you're doing it." Bryce ran a hand through his hair and looked at her for a moment before continuing. "You can't give him a normal life."

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, then quickly closed it. Her confidence faltered and she felt around for the dresser to lean on as the weight of Bryce's words hit her. Chuck never could have a normal life. They could pretend. She could get a desk job somewhere, they could buy a house, get married, have kids, but he would always have government secrets locked in his brain and the threat of being locked in a padded cell hanging over their lives. It wasn't just him. She would forever be a former CIA agent with countless aliases and too much blood on her hands. Did this normal life she was fighting for even exist?

"Maybe . . .maybe I can't," she said quietly not meeting the other agent's eyes. "But I wasn't the one who took it away from him."

"You're right. I did that. I ruined his life. Chuck was the best friend I ever had and I knew what would happen to him when I sent him that e-mail. But I also knew the stakes. I may have ruined his, but I saved the lives of a whole lot of people by doing it. We all have to make sacrifices."

"That's why we're doing this. To make it right. I will personally guard X's cell for the rest of my life, if it means Chuck can get part of his old life back."

"You love him, don't you?"

This time, Bryce's words didn't faze her like she thought they would. She didn't care that he knew or what he thought. "I do."

"Is this a pattern with you? Falling in love with men you work with. Is Casey next?" Bryce's tone was light. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood. The Sarah he used to know would have smiled, laughed lightly, and forgiven him. Not this Sarah.

"I never loved you," she said seriously. He looked hurt and it took him a moment longer to compose himself than she was used to.

"That's not what matters. The real question is: Do you love Chuck enough? If you did you would let me kill X, walk away, and never look back. If you were strong enough to leave him, then he might actually have a shot of living that life you want for him. Can you be selfless or are you going to be selfish?"

Bryce lay back down on the bed with his hands under his head. Sarah took it as a sign that the conversation was over. She hated it, but deep down knew he was right. Maybe their love story wasn't supposed to be more than a few stolen moments. But would she be able to live with herself if she walked away from him forever? What would she do? There was no doubt in Sarah's mind that she would be done with the CIA after this was over. She just couldn't do it anymore, but her plan had always been to return to Chuck. If she gave that up, what would she do? Move somewhere far away? Fall in love with someone else? Die sad an alone? That was an uncertain future she didn't even want to think about.

The sound of a car door closing set her on high alert. She hid in the shadows of the room and nodded to Bryce. The whole thing was about to end, Sarah just didn't know how.

* * *

"The CIA is sending a plane to pick us up in an hour."

Sarah nodded, but didn't respond. Bryce looked at her then placed his hand on top of hers. She didn't pull away. "Director Graham and General Beckman told me that Casey would stay to protect Chuck. He was the one who suggested it actually. He said that even though the threat was over, the intersect still needed to be protected. He didn't even fight Beckman when she told him that he would be the agent that had to stay and protect Chuck." He chuckled softly, trying to make her feel better, but all it did was make her ache more.

Sarah stood quickly and walked to the door of the motel room. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back in time for the plane," was all she said as she exited the room and jumped in her car. The drive to Chuck's old apartment was too long for her liking. She just wanted to see him. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be all right. There was a good chance she was breaking numerous traffic laws, but she didn't care. Sarah pitied the police officer that dared to pull her over.

She arrived at Chuck's without incident and in record time. It was quiet out. The sun was just beginning to rise and most people were still safely tucked away in the comforting ignorance of sleep. _If only._ Sarah made it all the way to the fountain before her better judgment kicked in. Instead of going to the door, she hid in the safety of the shadows. She looked to Chuck's window, but his room was dark. Then she moved to the living room where the small table lamp was lit. That's where she found Chuck. He was sitting in the chair that faced the door, waiting for her. He looked exhausted. He looked perfect.

It took her all of five seconds seeing him there to know what she did was right. Two hours ago X had stormed into the motel room, perfectly falling into their trap. The plan was for Bryce to get X riled up enough that he would not notice Sarah come out of the shadows. While he was distracted with her, Bryce would knock him out and they would accompany X back to Washington, D.C. and let the CIA take it from there. But something snapped in Sarah the moment she saw X. Everything just seemed to fall into place and she knew with perfect clarity what the right thing to do was. So when X walked through the door, she stepped out of the shadows, raised her gun, and shot him without hesitation. The look on his face was one she'd seen before. He gave it to her once when he was torturing her. It was equally parts taunting, appreciation, and disgust. It was forever seared into her memory.

Bryce had looked relieved. Part of her figured he would have done it if she hadn't. She knew it was right, but staring at the man waiting for her in that living room made her wish with everything she had that she hadn't pulled that trigger. They could have learned so much from X. But in the end, she knew the risk outweighed his usefulness. But Chuck would be safe. He would get the life he wanted back. The CIA would cut ties with him. No one would look for the intersect anymore. Soon no one would remember what the intersect was.

He would have a future. But would they? That was one thing Sarah was completely unsure of. In a way she figured she made the decision the moment she pulled that trigger. This was going to hurt him. Chuck looked so hopeful sitting there. She stood there watching him for forty five minutes. Each time there was a noise, even a faint one, he would sit up straighter and stare and the door intently. Three times he had actually stood up and opened the door. When he did she disappeared deeper into the shadows. The last time he had even said her name.

"Sarah?"

It was almost a whisper, but she heard all the emotion in it. It took everything in her not to cry out to him and run to his arms. He would make it all okay. He would tell her it didn't matter and they'd be fine as long as they were together. Instead she stayed rooted to her spot. The look of disappointment on his face as he closed the door broke her heart. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She knew it was Bryce. Their plane was here. Sarah took one last good look at Chuck. She wanted to brand his face in her memory. After all, there was a good chance this would be the last time she ever saw him.

"Goodbye," Sarah breathed. She turned without looking back, leaving Chuck waiting for a knock on his front door. It would never come.


	13. Day 730 Chuck

**A/N: After all the reviews I figured I should get this chapter out as soon as possible to explain a few things. First, this is not the end of the story. We still have at least four or five more chapters to go. Most of you didn't like the last chapter, but I promise I have a plan. In the coming chapters you'll learn more about why it was necessary for Sarah to leave the way she did. It will all be worth it soon. Thanks for all the reviews and feedback!**

Chuck threw his keys on his desk and hurried to answer the phone ringing in his pocket. He was slightly disappointed when Morgan's face appeared on his screen. "Hey Buddy, what's up?"

"Anna's working a late shift tonight. Do want to come over for a little Call of Duty action?"

"Sorry, I have some work to do tonight."

"You just got off Chuck!"

"I know, but we've been swamped lately. We are so not ready for this deadline and everyone is taking work home. Rain check for next week?"

Morgan mumbled something incoherent and Chuck figured he was rolling his eyes. "Fine. No problem. Don't work too hard."

Chuck hung up and turned off his phone. He didn't want to talk to anyone tonight. A moment later he turned it back on. _Just in case. _Not that he expected her to call, but he didn't expect her to call the first time either. He hadn't been exactly truthful with Morgan. His company really was swamped, but Chuck had no work to do tonight. Tonight was the two year anniversary of the day Sarah left. She had come back about five months ago. He saw her for about ten minutes. They didn't even talk. Casey had saved him from X then he came home and waited for her. He sat in that chair for hours. Eventually, 9:00 AM rolled around and he had to go to work. He stopped by Casey's on his way out and asked about what happened.

"Have you heard anything about Sarah?"

"Last I heard, they took out Agent X. Congratulations Bartowski, you're free of Fulcrum."

"When you say 'took out' . . ."

"She killed him."

Chuck swallowed. He hated the thought of Sarah killing anyone, especially when he knew she was doing it for him. "Do you know where she is?"

Casey put down the gun he was cleaning and looked at him. "My guess is she's on her way back to headquarters to be debriefed. Agent X marked the end of a very long mission for us. There's a lot of paperwork to go through."

"Will she be back?"

"What do I look like? Her personal secretary?" At Chuck's reaction Casey softened a little and sighed. "We lead a different kind of life. Sometimes that means doing things we don't want to do, but know are right."

Casey went back to cleaning his gun and Chuck took that as a cue that the conversation was over. To this day he still didn't quite know what Casey meant. What did Sarah have to do that she didn't want to? Part of him didn't really care. That same part was mad at her. She had left him again. He thought he would have at least gotten a goodbye this time. The other part of him, the part that was mad at himself, told him that the words "me too" scribbled on a small piece of paper didn't exactly mean she intended to come back for good one day. That's just what he wanted them to mean. A lot of people who were in love never got to be together.

Chuck needed air. It felt like his room was suffocating him. He loosened his tie and walked outside to the fountain. He was still living with his sister. He just couldn't move back into his apartment. Ellie was worried about him again. When she asked why he wasn't moving back, he said that he didn't like the location and wanted something closer to his work, but in reality he just wanted to make it easier for Sarah to find him when . . . _if_ she ever came back.

"Hey Chuck," Ellie said coming up behind him.

"Hey Sis. Back from the hospital early?"

"Yeah, my surgery was pushed back until tomorrow. Devon's stuck at the hospital for a few more hours and I haven't been to the grocery store in awhile. Do you feel like going out tonight? Just the two of us?"

"That sounds fun, Ellie, but I don't think I'm up for it tonight."

She walked over and sat next to him on the fountain. "Is everything okay Chuck?"

"I don't know. I guess . . . ," he tried to come up with something to satisfy her, then decided to tell her the truth. "I've been waiting for Sarah. I figured she'd come back, but now I'm not so sure."

"This isn't what you want to hear, but it's been two years Chuck. I think it's time to move on."

"I know, but I don't want to. I only want her. No other girl is going to come close."

"Well, did she tell you she was going to come back? Have you talked to her at all since she left?"

Chuck sighed. He knew he'd have a hard time convincing Ellie. On the other hand, maybe this was exactly what he needed to hear. "No I haven't talked to hear and she never exactly said she would come back. I guess I just figured she always would."

"Look Chuck, I love Sarah. You two were great together. But at some point you're going to have to let go. You don't want to wait forever."

_But I will. _"I know. Today's not that day though."

Ellie smiled sadly at him. "Well when that day comes Devon and I know a lot of wonderful girls that would love to meet you."

He chuckled at her and rolled his eyes. "I'll go order us a pizza," she said getting up and making her way to the front door.

"Ellie," he called. She stopped abruptly and turned to look at him. "Do you think she'll come back?" he asked softly.

"I hope so."

"I hope so, too."


	14. Day 750 Sarah

**A/N: We're almost to the end of the story. I'm thinking there will be about two more chapters then an epilogue. I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

Sarah breathed in the cool San Francisco night air and smiled. She loved her evening walks. They had become a ritual for her. At first their purpose was to help familiarize her with the city, but now three weeks later they were her favorite way to unwind at the end of the day. She kept it simple tonight with a short stroll from her hotel to Pier 39. It was more crowded than normal, but she didn't mind. It was nice to be around people. She watched as the light from Alcatraz's lighthouse blinked in her direction.

A cold wind sent shivers down her spine and Sarah zipped her jacket a little higher. What was the quote? The coldest winter was a summer in San Francisco. Unfortunately, she had firsthand experience and knew that wasn't quite true. It certainly did feel that way tonight though. Thinking back Sarah hadn't been this cold since that night in Russia. There was still a scar on her stomach from where the glass had pierced her. She should have known right then how difficult that assignment was going to be. To be honest she was glad it was over. All of it. Gone was the constant threat of death, the running, the gunfights. She had been free from the CIA for a little over three weeks. It felt good. She felt like an actual human instead of a weapon. Of course, leaving the CIA wasn't easy. Most agents leave in a casket, not out of their own will. The process took about four months. Most of which she was confined to her apartment in Washington. They had to delete all traces of her previous identities; there were a lot of them. She had to go through a lot of questioning, review old reports, brief other agents on things she learned from assignments.

It was hard to describe her feelings the day Graham told her she was free to go. She was at her apartment. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when she heard the knock on her door. She almost missed it over the sound of the TV. She was watching _Buffy the Vampire Slayer. _Since she was confined to her apartment for most of the time, she took it as an opportunity to watch as many TV shows/movies, listen to as much music, and read as many books as she could get through. When you're a CIA agent you don't have time to do any of that. Sarah wanted to see what she liked. That's what normal people did. She was actually a little surprised at what she found. She loved country music, probably because her dad used to play Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson when she as younger. Wasn't a huge fan of James Bond. He always did everything wrong. Plus, she worked with an MI-6 agent that reminded her of Daniel Craig. He almost got her killed. Sarah Michelle Gellar was her new hero and she had a massive crush on Wentworth Miller. There was a stack of DVDs in the corner that she never touched. _Battlestar Galactica_, _Firefly, Star Trek. _It felt wrong watching them without him.

"Director Graham? What can I do for you?" she had asked as she opened the door.

"May I come in?"

"Of course," she opened the door wider as a cue for him to enter.

"I wanted to come here and tell you in person that you are now officially no longer a CIA agent."

Relief. Sadness. Joy. Fear. They all passed through her in the blink of an eye. It was strange. The CIA was such a huge part of her life. No, that wasn't quite true. The CIA _was_ her life. Before Chuck she would never even had imagined it. Director Graham had tried numerous times to get her to stay. He didn't want to let one of his best agents go. He never even got close to breaking her resolve. Graham stood there looking at her expectantly.

"I . . . I don't really know what to say, sir."

"If you ever change your mind there will always be a place for you at the CIA."

"Thank you, sir. For everything."

Sarah was snapped back to the present by a loud scream behind her. Instinctively she shot up, turned towards the sound, and reached for a gun she no longer hid in her waistband. _Old habits die hard. _Turns out it was just an upset little girl. Her parents wouldn't buy her candy from the store at the end of the pier. She obviously wasn't happy about it. It was probably time for her to head back to her apartment anyway.

After ten minutes she reached her hotel, but she didn't go in. Something told her to keep walking. Two blocks down she saw a man dash across the street. He had curly black hair. It couldn't be him. It wasn't just the hair. The height and build were the same too. Sarah quickened her pace to catch to catch up with him. He hailed a cab and was about to climb in when she called his name.

"Chuck!" No response. "Chuck!"

This time the man turned to her. It wasn't him. Not even close. Now that she really looked at him, he hardly resembled Chuck at all. Just her mind playing tricks making her see things she wanted. Maybe it was time. Was she really ready? She walked back to her hotel trying to answer that question. Nothing came to her.

"Well, well. If it isn't Miss Walker."

"Frank! Long time no see. Where have you been the last couple of days?" Frank was the concierge at her hotel. He was a really sweet old man. He was there when she first checked in and offered her his company for breakfast when he noticed she was alone. It was nice having someone she could talk to. Frank understood a lot of what she was going through. He was lonely too. His wife Mary had died a few years ago and he didn't have any other family in the area. She took him to see Wicked a week ago. They had way more fun than she expected. Frank was a spitfire despite his age.

"My grandson flew in two days ago. I took the days off so I could spend time with him."

"I'm glad! I've missed you around here though."

"Well you know, my grandson is about your age and he's single. He gets his good looks from me," he said winking at her.

Sarah smiled and laughed softly. "I'd love to go out with him Frank, but . . . I'm kind of attached."

"Really?"

"Well, I guess not technically. I don't really know how to explain it."

"Is it that Chuck boy?"

"How'd you know?"

"You told me about him once. It was just in passing. The front desk computers were broken and you said if you're friend Chuck was here he'd have them fixed in no time. You got this look on your face. I recognized that look. I used to have it when I talked about Mary before I married her. It's longing."

Sarah was silent. The hole inside her grew more noticeable when she heard his name. Every time she thought about him she pictured his face the night she left.

"Can I ask you something? If you like this guy so much why are you here and not with him?"

Sarah didn't have an answer so she tried to lighten the mood. "Are you trying to get rid of me Frank?"

He just sighed and walked around the desk and gently took her arm to steer her to the couch in the lobby. "You're not getting off that easy. I don't know much about you, but you remind me a lot of myself at your age. The way your smile never quite reaches your eyes and how you don't give people any more information about yourself than they need."

Sarah narrowed her eyes, wary of where this was going. Frank just gave her a small smile and continued. "My parents died when I was twelve. I was the oldest of three kids. I took care of my younger sisters until they went off to college. I was twenty four by then. I dropped out of high school junior year and couldn't get a job so I joined the army. I was sent to a base in San Diego where I met Mary. I had only known her a few months when I shipped off to Europe. Still, I was in love. I got through all the fighting by telling myself I was going to run home and marry her the second the war ended. It kept me going and gave me something real to fight for. About eight months into it I got wounded." Frank lifted up his pant leg and showed her the large scar on his ankle. Sarah remembered seeing him limp from time to time, but never asked him about it. She figured it was just his age catching up with him.

"I spent a long time in a hospital. I never told Mary though. I didn't want her to worry. I got out about three months later. I had spent all that time telling myself I would go back to her the moment I could, but when I stepped out of that hospital I just couldn't do it. I had spent my whole life taking care of other people and if I went home we'd get married and have kids and I'd have a whole family to take care of. I wasn't ready to do that yet. I needed to learn more about who _I_ was before I could do anything else. So I got a job and took night classes. Took me about a year and a half to get my GED and save enough money to buy her a ring. Took an extra five months before I made the trip back to San Diego."

"Do you regret taking that time for yourself?" she whispered.

"No. I probably would have been a different man if I had rushed into our marriage. Things turned out okay for us. I did feel guilty though. That's why I took the extra five months. It wasn't easy for me to get over the guilt of leaving her alone that whole time."

Sarah's eyes welled with tears, but she didn't let them fall. Frank reached out and took her hand. "You did what you had to do. I just hope you have the strength that I didn't. Don't feel guilty."

"Will you drive me to the airport?"

* * *

It was a little after two in the morning by the time Sarah got to Los Angeles. She was a ball of nerves the whole flight. What would she say to him? Would he forgive her? Should she go over there now or wait for morning? Figuring it was best to wait until morning she had the cab drop her off at her old hotel. Yet, here she was standing outside of Chuck's old apartment. Who was she kidding? She wasn't going to wait until morning. Not wanting to wake Ellie or Awesome, Sarah went around to Chuck's window, otherwise known as the Morgan Door. She saw Chuck laying there. He looked so peaceful. She knocked quietly, but he didn't stir.

Feeling a bolt of courage she pushed down the handle and was thrilled to find it wasn't locked. She climbed through quietly and stood there awkwardly for a moment. Now what?

"Screw it." Sarah rummaged through Chuck's dresser until she found her favorite t-shirt of his. It was a ratty old Stanford shirt he had probably worn a thousand times. That's why she loved it. It always smelled like him. Cautiously, she got into bed and positioned herself as close to him as possible. She lay there a moment before she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her closer. Her eyes darted to his face, but his eyes were still closed and his breathing was even. She smiled, kissed his cheek, and then laid her head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Chuck."


	15. Day 751

"_What's this?" Sarah asked taking the small box from Chuck._

"_A birthday gift."_

_She raised an eyebrow. "But it's not my birthday."_

"_Well, I've known you for about a year and a half so you've had at least one birthday. Consider this a belated gift."_

_Sarah knew she shouldn't accept it. Gifts complicated things, especially because of how close she and Chuck had gotten over the past few months, but there was no arguing with him on this. His smile always melted her defenses. She smiled as she opened the box. _

"_Lavender perfume?"_

"_Yeah," he replied sheepishly. "You mentioned the other day that you were low on perfume. I looked everywhere for your old kind, but I couldn't find it. So, I tested them all out and this one reminded me the most of you."_

_Chuck couldn't describe the look she gave him next. It made him panic. Maybe perfume wasn't the right thing to get her. "I-I kept the receipt in case you don't like it."_

"_I love lavender," she said as she looked up at him again. "Thank you Chuck." _

* * *

When Chuck woke up the first thing he noticed was the smell of lavender. It smelled _so good. _Then he realized there was someone sleeping next to him. He opened his eyes slowly, almost fearing what he might find, then let out a relieved sigh. Curled into his chest was Sarah Walker. She was beautiful. Chuck was scared to move, he didn't want to wake her. He didn't want this to be a dream. She stirred in his arms, but didn't wake. He gently kissed her forehead, then almost regretted it as her eyes fluttered open and she let out a soft yawn. Chuck chuckled softly. She was so cute when she yawned.

Suddenly remembering where she was, Sarah stiffened against him and looked up shyly. They stayed silent just staring at each other, neither knowing what to say.

"H-Hi," she said lamely feeling a slight blush rise in her cheeks.

"Hi," he returned as his smile grew wider. "Sleep well?"

She just nodded and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her hair. He watched as Sarah seemed to have a war with herself. Her brows were knotted together in frustration. She sat up abruptly breaking his hold on her.

"Chuck, I'm so sor-," she started, but he placed his hand on her mouth to quiet her.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, but . . ."

"There will be plenty of time to talk later. Right now I just want to bask."

She smiled again and he swore his knees were about to give out. He doubted she knew it was the most dangerous weapon she had. It killed him every time. "Pancakes?"

"Sure," Sarah said as he got out of bed. She instantly felt colder the moment he left. "Do you mind if I take a shower while you make breakfast?"

"Not at all. Do you remember where everything is?"

She nodded and he left the room. Sarah opened her suitcase and grabbed a few things as Chuck reappeared. "By the way, you look really hot in my shirt."

Sarah giggled and playfully threw a rolled up pair of socks at him. He caught it easily. "I think you'll find that my reflexes have improved since we la-," Chuck was cut off by the second pair of socks that hit him square in the face. "I stand corrected. I'm going to save myself and go make breakfast." _I love you._ She wanted to tell him so badly. It was the perfect moment, but she was so scared. She didn't want to ruin what they had right now with all the things, good and bad, that needed to be said. Like Chuck said, there would be time for that later. So instead she just watched as he gave her a goofy grin and left the room.

* * *

Chuck could not believe this was really happening. He'd imagined it so many times before. None of them involved waking up with her in his arms. Most of the time he thought she would just show up randomly when he was at work or when he went out for a walk. Or maybe just knock on his door with a smile and a shrug. None of this compared to what actually happened. Part of him was terrified that he was still dreaming.

He heard the shower turn off and smiled. The ten minutes she'd been in there seemed like an eternity. It was funny how he could wait two years for her and come out relatively unscathed, but waiting ten minutes was like torture. He poured the pancake batter onto the griddle and reached for a spatula when he heard the soft click of a door closing. Expecting to see Sarah, he turned with a huge grin on his face, only to see his sister and Awesome walk into the apartment.

"What's with all the food Chuck? Are we having breakfast guests that I don't know about?"

"Ellie! I didn't know you were going to be home so early. Didn't you two just leave?" he asked stealing a glance down the hall.

"Our surgeries were cancelled," Ellie shrugged. She didn't seem to pick up on his nervousness, but Awesome did.

"What's wrong Chuckles? Is there some hot girl here that we don't know about?" Awesome picked up a piece of toast and slapped Chuck on the back. He laughed nervously at his brother in law, but made no other response. Hopefully, Sarah would hear them and be able to sneak into his room. Ellie would have questions that he couldn't answer because he had no idea where they stood in the relationship department.

"Hey while you're at it, do you mind making me some scrambled eggs?"

"Sure. No problem." Awesome and Ellie settled into the couch as the read the paper and drank coffee. Chuck looked at his watch. Sarah had been in there for a really long time. He figured he should go check on her, but he heard another faint click and watched as Sarah tip toed from the bathroom to his room wearing nothing but a towel. So she had heard them. Of course, she did. Sarah Walker was a super spy. She turned to wink at him, one he returned. A small gasp came from beside him and he turned to see Ellie and Awesome staring from him to Sarah.

Sarah just stood there like a deer in the headlights, looking at him to help her out of this. How was he supposed to help her when she was the one always saving him?

"Awesome," Devon said rising from his seat on the couch. "I knew you had a hot girl hidden in here."

Ellie followed suit and beamed at them. "Sarah! It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see both of you too."

"When? I want details," she said turning to her brother.

"How about we give the poor girl a chance to get dressed? Then we can talk about it over breakfast."

Sarah smiled gratefully at him and ducked into his room. That was not how she expected her first meeting with Ellie and Awesome to go. At least they seemed genuinely happy to see her. To be honest, she had her doubts, especially because of how much time had passed without a word. When she saw Ellie at the hospital in DC all that time ago she wondered if they would be able to mend their friendship. Right now it seemed like it was never broken and Sarah was thankful for that.

There was a soft knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey, I'm sorry about that. I didn't think they'd be home until later."

"It's okay. It is kind of a relief to have that out of the way."

Chuck wasn't quite sure when it happened, but he and Sarah were standing very close to each other. They locked eyes and Chuck became acutely aware that Sarah was still only in her towel. Feeling his cheeks redden he took a step back and gazed at the floor. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"I'll be right out."

He nodded and retreated to the door. Chuck paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned back to look at her. "I forgot to ask what our cover for this is. Ellie is going to grill us as soon as you come out here."

Sarah furrowed her brows in confusion. She probably should have already told him she left the CIA. She figured he would just assume that when she showed up. Looking at him she noticed how fragile he looked in that moment. Like his whole world depended on her answer. It made her heart burst then break. That look showed her everything she needed to know. He loved her. After all this time, he still loved her, but he didn't know that his feelings were returned tenfold.

"Chuck I left the CIA. There is no cover. This is all . . . real."

He stood there silent for a moment staring at her then walked over and kissed her. It was soft and quick, but the meaning behind it was unmistakable.

"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming."

* * *

It didn't take long for Sarah to get ready. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for Ellie's inquisition and opened the door into the living room.

"Perfect timing!" Chuck called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

She watched as Ellie handed Chuck a pitcher of orange juice. When the other woman saw Sarah she ran over an enveloped her in a hug. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Ellie." Sarah willed herself not to cry as emotion overcame her. She missed being a part of this family.

Awesome hugged her next and kissed her on the cheek. They walked over to the table where Chuck was putting out the last of the food. Ellie didn't wait long before asking questions.

"When did this happen?"

"Last night." "This morning." They said in unison. The other couple shot them confused glances, but Sarah recovered quickly. "I got here last night, but we didn't see each other until this morning. I decided that I couldn't stay away any longer so I hopped on a plane and here I am."

"Where were you living?"

"All around," she said as Chuck gave her a knowing look and laid his hand over hers. "I was in Europe for awhile. Then I went to South America," she finished as she tried and failed to suppress a shudder. She didn't like to think about what happened in South America too much.

"That sounds so exciting. You're going to have to tell us stories of all your adventures once you get settled."

Sarah racked her brain for anything that happened during her mission that didn't involve hunting down Fulcrum operatives and came up empty. She'd have to come up with something to tell Ellie. She could tell her about San Francisco. That was safe.

"Do you guys have any big plans tonight?"

"We haven't really gotten that far yet," Chuck said pouring himself another glass of orange juice. He noticed that Sarah seemed deep in thought. It started with that shudder when she mentioned South America. She didn't think he noticed, but he did. He made a mental note to ask her about it later and see if he could help. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"I'm up for anything," she said jumping out of her daze.

"We should have a party! Everyone would love to see you, Sarah."

"Babe, give her some time to readjust. She just got back," Awesome said sensing Sarah's discomfort.

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea." Honestly, Sarah was petrified of seeing everyone again. Judging by the way Morgan talked about Jill and Bryce she was scared Chuck's best friend wouldn't like her anymore.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this? We'd completely understand if it's too much too soon."

"Chuck for the thousandth time, its okay. It'll be nice to see everyone again. I just want everything to get back to how it used to be."

"You're scared about Morgan aren't you?"

She laughed and walked over to fix his collar. "How'd you know?"

"Just a hunch I had. It'll be fine. I promise."

Sarah returned his smile and checked herself in the mirror one last time. It was now or never. Chuck took her hand and led her out of his room and into the living room where everyone was already gathered. She took a deep breath and put on a brave face as she stared into the roomful of people she used to know and some that she didn't recognize. Morgan, Anna, Jeff, and Lester were all there, but she didn't recognize anyone else. The rest were probably from Chuck's new work. After scanning the crowd a second time she noticed Casey standing in the background. He nodded to her and she smiled at him.

"SARAH!"

Before she knew what was happening, Morgan had run up to her and enveloped her in a bear hug. He even lifted her off the ground and spun her in a circle. "Words can't describe how glad I am to have you back. We need to start going out on double dates again!"

"Sure thing, Morgan," she said patting him on the back. Anna hugged her next followed by an awkward hug from Jeff, and a more of a clinging hug from Lester. Chuck had to help peel him off her. Some things never change. She spent the next hour meeting Chuck's co-workers. They were a really nice group of people and Sarah could see herself becoming good friends with a lot of them. She left Chuck, Morgan, and a few others discussing the merits of some new video game to escape to the courtyard to get some air.

"Walker."

She looked across the fountain to see Casey standing halfway into his apartment. "Are you leaving already?"

"In case you've forgotten, I'm not big on parties."

Sarah gave him a small smile and nodded. "It means a lot that you came."

Casey grunted, but closed the door and sat next to her on the fountain. "I heard you quit. Graham was pretty upset."

"After . . . everything I just couldn't do it anymore. I did manage to find out that you'll be staying in LA for awhile."

"You mean babysitting Bartowski? Yeah, I got stuck with that job."

He indented to sound annoyed, but after working with him for so long, Sarah knew he wasn't too bothered by the assignment. They had grown really close over the past two years. Neither would admit it to each other, but they had become friends. Sarah was glad that he was going to be around. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"We never really got a chance to talk about what happened in South America. I know you tried to save me."

"You shouldn't be thanking me. I should be apologizing to you. If I had been quicker you wouldn't have had to be . . . X wouldn't have gotten his hands on you."

"There was nothing you could have done. The important thing is that we completed the mission successfully."

Casey nodded and stood. "It wasn't so bad working with you Walker."

"I liked having you for a partner too, Casey."

"I'm warning you though. The next time I see Bryce Larkin I'm going to shoot him." Sarah laughed as Casey retreated back into his apartment. Figuring it was time to get back to the party; she got up and headed back inside. She found Chuck in the same place she had left him, only this time they were arguing about who would win a fight between astronauts and cavemen. Chuck locked eyes with her when she rejoined the group. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"What do you think Sarah?" Morgan asked cutting off Lester in mid-sentence. "Who would win?"

"Do the astronauts have weapons?"

* * *

"Thanks for the party Ellie. I really enjoyed it."

"No problem. It seemed like everyone had a great time."

Sarah attempted to help Ellie clean up, but the other woman insisted that there wasn't much to do. Sarah hugged her goodnight and she headed to Chuck's room. She walked in and saw him going through a box in his closet. "Looking for something?"

He jumped and turned around. "Yeah. I'm trying to find a box, but I can't remember where I put it."

"Want some help?"

"No because if you found it, it would ruin the surprise."

"Surprise?" she said raising an eyebrow. He only nodded in his determination to find the box. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched him. This whole day had been perfect. She couldn't have dreamed of a better outcome. It took about ten minutes, but Chuck finally found the box. He set it next to her on the bed and smiled triumphantly.

"Close your eyes." Sarah complied and heard him ruffle through the box for something. "Okay. Open." She let out a small gasp as she caught sight of the pink dog Chuck held out to her.

Tears filled her eyes, but this time she didn't try to hold them back. She grabbed the stuffed animal from him and held it close to her chest. "How did you find Rex?"

"I grabbed him from your hotel room the day you left. The CIA hadn't come to clean it out yet. There are a few old pictures and things that I kept in case you came back," he said motioning to box next to her. Sarah sat Rex down and stood up to hug Chuck. Immediately, his arms wrapped around her and she melted into him.

"I don't deserve you."

"I don't deserve you either."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back."

"Shh. Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you're here now."

Sarah looked up to meet his eyes. He made her feel so safe. That's one of the things she missed most about being with him. He always had this calming effect on her that made the rest of the world melt away.

"I love you Chuck."

"I love you too, Sarah."

* * *

**A/N: **Finally some long overdue fluff. And surprise! No cliffhanger hanger on this one. After **aardvark7734 **pointed out that I have a nasty habit of ending chapters with cliffhangers I thought I would spare you all this time lol. Unless something changes there will only be one more chapter then an epilogue. Thank you all for the reviews! Oh and extra points to who those who know where the astronaut/caveman thing came from.


	16. Day 752

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay. School started up again and it's been hectic. Here's the final chapter. All we have is the epilogue now. Thank you all so much for the reviews and the support.**

Chuck groaned as he reached over to turn off the alarm. He felt Sarah rustle next to him and kissed her forehead. "Good morning."

Sarah yawned and curled even closer to him. "Do you have to go to work today?"

"I wish I didn't. I'm sure I can cut out early," he smiled. All he wanted to do was stay in bed with her all day, but his boss would kill him if he didn't show up for their weekly meeting. "Let's plan something nice for tonight. I can make reservations somewhere."

"Sounds nice," she said, but he could feel her stiffen and pull away slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Can we talk tonight? Maybe before dinner?" She watched as a flash of panic crossed his face, but he hid it quickly. It looked like he wanted to talk about as much as she did. But she knew it was needed. They would never really be able to move forward until they were honest with each other and put the past behind them. She was terrified that the conversation would change everything.

"Yeah, I guess. If you want we can talk right now." To be honest he didn't really want to talk. From the look on her face there was a lot that was weighing on her and he was scared it would ruin the happiness they had right now. Chuck just wanted to freeze time where it was.

Sarah sat up and took a deep breath. She didn't know where to start. It would be best if she started from the beginning: why she left, where she went, what she did, _who she did_. Sarah shivered and looked toward the floor. That probably wasn't the best place to start. "I guess . . . I guess I should start by asking if you have any questions for me."

"Hmm. Well, let's make sure I have this right," he said sitting up so he was even with her. "About two years ago you left LA, met up with Casey, worked with him to take down Fulcrum, came here to track down Agent X, left again, then quit the CIA and came back here."

"First off, I didn't come back here to find Agent X. I came back here for you. X just happened to have followed Casey and me here."

"You came back for me?"

Sarah nodded and watched as the wheels in his head started to turn. "If you came back for me, why did you leave again after you killed X?"

"You knew I killed X?" She didn't want Chuck to know that. She didn't want him to think of her as a killer. Thankfully, it didn't seem to faze him as he spoke about it.

"Casey told me," he shrugged, but never took his eyes off hers.

"I needed to finish my mission and figure some things out."

"Do you know I waited for you that night? I thought you would come back." The pain in his voice was evident and Sarah felt a lump rise in her throat at the memory of watching him wait for her.

"I'm sorry, Chuck."

They were quiet for a little awhile as Chuck let everything sink in. "I understand. And I figured leaving the CIA wasn't easy. I didn't think it would be a six month process. That must have been hard."

No, _this _was going to be hard. "It wasn't exactly a six month process. It was long, but not quite six months."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"I spent some time in San Francisco after I left the CIA and before I came here. It was personal time."

"How much time?" he asked, but the look on her face told him all he needed to know. He felt something he couldn't quite place rise in him and quickly looked away from her. "I need to get to work."

"Chuck, we need to talk about this."

"If I'm late my boss will kill me."

Sarah watched as he quickly got out of bed and headed straight for the shower. She didn't know what she expected his reaction to be when she told him, but she didn't really expect it to be this. How was she supposed to fix this? She lay back down on the bed and ran a hand over her face. He just needed time to process. She would give him time and they would talk again when he got home from work. In the meantime it might be a good idea for her to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. She had enough money saved to buy a place of her own and to live off of for awhile, but she still needed to find a job. The question was: what was she going to do? The only thing she was good at was being a spy. Sarah couldn't really see herself working at a desk job. She would get to antsy. She needed to be moving around. Law enforcement was an option, but she was tired of protecting other people. She could go back to the Wienerlicious, but she wanted more out of life than deep frying hot dogs. Maybe it wasn't one of those things she had to figure out right now. She had time to figure out what she wanted to do.

About ten minutes later Chuck came back into the room to get dressed. She watched him in silence and yearned to walk over and fix his tie. Instead, she sat there and pretended not to stare at him. When he was done, he walked over to his desk, picked up his briefcase, grabbed his keys, and turned to look at her.

"I'll be back around 5:30."

"Have a good day," she said offering a smile. He took a step to leave, paused, then leaned over to her side of the bed and kissed her on the cheek. If not for the fact that he was mad at her, it would have been a perfect. A moment later she heard the front door click and he was gone.

* * *

It was almost six o'clock by the time Sarah returned to the Bartowski's. She had attended a few open houses and looked at a few apartments near Chuck's. There were a few that looked promising, but nothing that really jumped out at her. She wished Chuck had been there with her. Hopefully, he would go along next time.

"Hey, Sarah!" Ellie called from the kitchen. Sarah smiled and walked over to her. Ellie was busy preparing dinner and whatever it was it smelled amazing.

"Everything looks great Ellie."

"Thanks. I made plenty in case you and Chuck would be joining us."

"Thank you, but I think Chuck mentioned going out tonight. Is he back yet?"

"Nope. He should be here any minute though. He doesn't like to stay at the office later than six."

Sarah looked at her watch and sighed. She wondered if because of the conversation they had earlier he was avoiding coming home. She shook her head to clear the thought and talked with Ellie until she was finished with dinner. The Woodcombs sat down for dinner around 7:00 and Sarah excused herself. After another half hour of waiting in Chuck's room, Sarah decided she better go look for him. It wouldn't be too hard; she had a pretty good idea of where he was.

* * *

Chuck checked his watch. It was almost 8:00 and he needed to get home. Five more minutes wouldn't hurt anything. He breathed in the cool salty air and watched as the waves crashed against the shore. It was comforting. This was the spot he came to when he needed to think. He came here when he first met Sarah. That time it wasn't about her. It was the night he found out about the intersect in his head. He remembered feeling so lost and confused. Nothing made sense anymore. And here he was again, years later, but this time everything finally made sense. He had been upset with Sarah this morning, but after thinking about it all day he came to the realization that none of it mattered. This was their chance to start over and he wasn't going to let anything ruin that. He heard rustling behind him, but he didn't look back.

"How long you been here?"

"A little while."

She sat next to him, a little farther away than he would have liked, and he resisted the urge to reach out to her. "How'd you know I was here?"

"It's our spot," was all she offered. He smiled. He liked the sound of that.

"Sarah before you say anything, I need to tell you something," Chuck took a deep breath and gazed back out at the ocean. "I was mad at you this morning. I was mad at you the night you left after everything that happened with X. I was mad at you a lot over the past two years. But I'm not mad at you anymore and I don't need to know anything else about what happened before you left the CIA, before you came here. It doesn't matter. We're starting fresh."

He turned to her and it broke his heart to see the tears in her eyes. Chuck reached out and pulled her toward him. She sank into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I didn't want to dwell on the past anymore."

"I do have one question, though. Why San Francisco?"

"My dad used to talk about it all the time when I was a kid. There was this one place in particular, called Vista Point. It's a little place right off the Golden Gate Bridge. He said it was his favorite place in the city. It's beautiful, Chuck. You can see the entire city from that little spot. I'd love to take you there sometime."

"I'd love that."

She looked up and met his eyes. "I love you." He leaned down to kiss her then rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you, too."

"So this is what it feels like."

"What?"

"Walking barefoot for awhile." Sarah laughed as he knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. "It's a chick flick reference. I don't expect you to understand."

"I didn't peg you for a chick flick fan, Sarah Walker."

"Me either, but I am not ashamed to admit that I totally love them."

"So is that what you did in San Francisco? Watch a bunch of chick flicks?"

"Not the whole time, but some of it. Actually, I watched a bunch of stuff while I was in DC waiting for my resignation to be final."

"What else did you watch?"

"_Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, Prison Break_. Oh, by the way, I might have to run off with Wentworth Miller."

"If the opportunity arises I would too." They both laughed and she snuggled closer to him. She loved this. Just being able to talk to him about things like TV was perfect.

"I did wait for you to watch most of the Sci-Fi stuff. I figured you could teach me how to fully appreciate _Firefly_."

"I think you've just made me the happiest geek in LA."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes watching the sunset. Chuck felt like he had finally arrived at the rest of his life. Even before he met Sarah he had been waiting for anything to come along that would change his life forever. Then he met Sarah and it didn't take long to figure out that she was the girl he had been waiting for. He was finished waiting now. The rest of his life started and ended with the girl wrapped in his arms.

Chuck stood up and reached out for her hand. "Let's go home."


End file.
